


O Good Hunter

by nevermind_sanity



Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Gen, I'll add more as I think of em, Side project for when I get Bloodborne Kicks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2019-08-27 20:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16709488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermind_sanity/pseuds/nevermind_sanity
Summary: Maybe going to a cursed town who has rumors about beasts and people going crazy is a bad idea, but really, does Evelyn have much of a choice? It's either that or die to the disease that killed her mother and in turn made her life a living hell.Evelyn soon is a Hunter, and though she knows how to fight, Yharnam's a whole new Ballgame. But in this little patch of a fresh hell, she does find something here. Something she never had in a sense, and something she's determined to take back with her.These souls do not deserve to meet their end this cursed town after all.





	1. A Yharnam Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> This is a retelling of Bloodborne with my Hunter Evelyn. We're gonna save as many as we can, but people are gonna die. Canon violence applies

 

"Evelyn, do you have regrets?"

The woman laughed, but it was clear there was no humor to it.

"I'm being serious Evelyn."

Her lips pursed for a moment, trying to think of an answer. "...yes. A lot. Most of em because that bastard ruined my fucking life, and now that angel he loved so much is clawing her way out of her grave to drag me down too."

"I wouldn't say that, but listen... some of the traders have been spreadin' rumors. There's a town in the mountains, seperated from everything. Yharnam they call it. They say they have medical miracles there. Something called Paleblood... or something like that."

"What's the catch? It's a town in the middle of nowhere. Not so friendly locals?"

"Oh, well, it's cursed."

"Of course it's cursed, why wouldn't it be?"

"Listen Evelyn... who knows how much time you have left. No one here can cure you. Why not take a chance? What else do you got to lose after all?"

The woman chuckled followed by a string of hard laboured coughs. The old man beside her gave her some pats on the back to help stabalize her. 

"Hehehehe..." she muttered, "You make a point. Hopefully someone's heading up that way... I guess."

That memory filtered in and out of Evelyn's mind, blending in with the sound of wheels turning and the clopping of hooves. It's been days since she last spoke with Jovian and left Valismet. Jumping cart to cart she eventually did find one hellbent to Yharnam. The driver seemed to be in a rush, trying to get there before 'the curse get's stronger.' Evelyn also rather get there before whatever was wrong with that town to come out and kill her before she could get back. No sense in getting cured if she just ended up dying before she could get home after all.

The wagon was less than ideal, a rickety old wooden thing that creaked and groaned along the bumpy road, but that wasn't what kept Evelyn from sleeping the trip off. Just as she started to nod off into dreamland her chest would suddenly scream in pain and her throat would tickle in response. She would double over, hacking and coughing, feeling her sore ribs ache from the abuse before her lungs finally could get a breath in and all would return to normal. The driver asked her once if she was ok, but now ignored it in favour of keeping his eyes on the road. He at least now knew why this woman was bothering to go to Yharnam. Most don't go unless they have business or were desperate after all.

Evelyn coughed up something the last time. She grimanced at the blood that now stained the floor from a burst capiliary in her lungs. She was running out of time.

The path had been going upwards for a while now. Evelyn found herself holding her chest as it ached more with the rise of elevation. When she looked up though she could see peeking out between two large mountains was the start of Yharnam. In plateau deep within the Hornbacked mountains the Gothic city's tallest towers began to appear, then bit by bit as the sun began to set, they could now see the town in full as it seemed to sprawl on forever into the horizon. The tall iron gates were opened, and the one man guarding it gave both of them a nod as they came through.

"She sick?" he asked. The driver stopped the cart to face the brute of a man.

"Aye." the scrawny man the turned to look Evelyn in her light brown eyes, "Afraid this is as far as I go. I'm doing my business with this man and leaving, and I ain't waiting for ya. There will be a wagon that leaves every morning."

Pale lips gave a half hearted smile, "Thanks for the ride I guess. Don't mind the blood." she then found her smile growing a little more as he jumped up and started looking for bloodstains where she had been sitting. She stepped out and watched him tumble over the side and into the cart while still searching for the damage.

"Head over to that street. You're looking for Iosefka's clinic. Someone will take care of you." The brute standing on the ground pointed over to a small alleyway. Evelyn gave him a nod and started to walk on the stone streets, still listening to her driver flailing about behind her.

The alleyway only had a few lanterns as she watched a couple quickly shuffle inside. A scent started to hit her nose, one that she hadn't smelled in a long time. Incense. Why were they burning incense? It was never a good sign when people were burning incense. Knowing that her driver was also leaving her here started a new feeling gnawing away at her belly. She clenched her jaw a little as she sped up her walking speed. These streets did not feel safe, and she was less than comfortable being out here longer than need be.

There, an old wooden building with a sign. She quickly came to it and knocked on the door, looking around in the alley for any signs of trouble. She was thankfully answered right away, but she wasn't put at ease by who answered. When the door opened she looked down to see an old man in a wheelchair, looking up at her. Well, he wasn't really looking, since he had bandages over his eyes that suggested they were no longer there. His clothes were ragged, the top hat sagging down, and the hand that just let go of the knob were long and pale.

"Hoh? I didn't think we'd get a paitent this close to the hunt." His smile was crooked to match his nose and revealed rotting teeth, making her even less comfortable with the situation.

"Sorry uh... is the doctor in the house? Kinda dying here." As soon as Evelyn spoke he could tell this was an outsider, which made things all the more interesting.

"Well, dying is no good, and you'll certainly die if I leave you out in the cold. Come now, inside." He rolled his wheelchair back and let Evelyn. As she closed the door behind her, she reached up for her hood and pulled it down, revealing her pale skin and black, messy, short hair. It was also easier now to see the unease on her face as she started to look aroud the short entrance hall.

"Uh, what did you mean by 'I'll die if left out in the cold?'" Evelyn asked as he wheeled over into the next room. She could see beds lining the far wall and when she stepped inside she could see a desk with a lantern as the only light source and cabinets full of vials. All of them were a dark liquid, blood most liking considering what she's heard. 

"Don't worry your little head." The old man waved her over, "Have a seat my dear."

Evelyn carefully crossed the room, the floorboards squeaking with every step. She sat down on the bed that was clearly not made for comfort and more for examination. He wheeled himself over and started to examine the vials. Was he reading the vials? How could he when he was blind?

"I'm assuming I'll need to pay ya. I've got coin if that's what you're worried about."

The old man let out a chuckle, "Ah, an outsider that doesn't expect healing for free. Good. It's nice not being taken advantage of." He then turned his wheelchair towards her, "Was there something in particular you were looking for then, if you came with coin?"

Evelyn frowned a little, "I heard about something called... paleblood. Is that what you call your healing stuff?"

The old man laughed, his body racking over with each one, "My my! No, that's not what we call it, but you are in the right place. I've certainly heard of it, and yes, it is very special. Though where's an outsider like you to begin on the hunt for such a thing?"

She was almost afraid to ask, but she did anyways, "What is Paleblood then?"

"Ah... curious are you..?" he wheeled himself closer, "...you are something else aren't you? I can sense there's strength in you, potential... are you good with fighting?"

Evelyn let out a small chuckle past all of the nerves bundling up inside her, "Valismet Hunter for the last 8 years or so. I know my way around."

"Ah... in that case you can keep your coin. Tonight promises to be special and we may need you to deal with a... pest problem here."

"Pest?" Evelyn raised her arms to fold over her chest.

"Surely you've heard of the curse. Yharnam's been beset by these pests for quite some time. Tell you what, I give you some Yharnam blood to cure you of your illness, and in exchange, you can help us cleanse these streets." The old man leaned as close as he could, and she caught a wiff of iron on his breath, "Do we have a deal, O Good Hunter?"

She was silent for a moment, considering the alternative before, "You say that like I've got a choice in this matter. I wasn't kidding when I said I was dying." It was an ultimatum, pure and simple. Either she agreed, or this illness would destroy her. Besides, hunting pests instead of paying coin was more ideal, since now more it could go to things back home, but the fact that he wasn't elaborating on 'pests' and how it was part of this curse didn't bode well.

He leaned back, "Good. First, you'll need a contract though. Would you mind lying down?"

Against her better judgement, she did as was told, laying her arms to her sides. She could hear him wheel towards the desk and taking out a piece of paper.

"Name?" He asked.

"Evelyn."

"Last?"

"Don't got one."

He let out another chortle, "Interesting, but no matter. Let's see... female... thin but muscled..."

He mumbled some other things before tearing the paper and moving over to the blood vial cabinet. She could hear him rumage around and take out what sounded like two vials. The next thing she knew was he was preparing a syringe. She watched him as carefully as she could, but couldn't really see, and every time she tried to get up he pushed her down again.

"Now, this may hurt a bit. The first is always the kicker, but don't worry. Whatever happens, you may think of it all as a bad dream."

Evelyn bit down on her lower lip. She flinched a little whe she feld his cold grubby hands on her wrist and the sting of a needle as the blood entered a vein. The effect is almost instantanious. She felt something warm rushing up her arm and to her heart, and the felt it all over. She then felt an overwhelmingly dizzying sensation throughout as her vision started to blur. She could hear the man letting out one last laugh before her ears began to ring, and she fell unconscious. She was too gone to even attempt to run like she wanted to the moment the dizzness hit her.

* * * *

There was a sound in here. Water? Dripping water? She wasn't sure, because when she woke up again it was completely dark. Her body felt heavy on the table and it was a chore to move her head left towards the sound. Her eyes looked down to the floor to see... blood? There was blood starting to seep up through the floorboards. Her eyes widened as her guts twisted with fear when she saw something crawling out of that puddle. The first word that came to mind was 'beast.' It's long lanky form that crawled out towards her was covered with blood and fur, it's glowing eyes on her as it started to stalk slowly towards her. Evelyn let out a strangled cry from her throat as she tried to move her body away to no avail. It just didn't seemed to want to work with her, even though she knew she had to get up and run from this creature.

"H-Hey! Back off!" She shouted at it, like that would help her current situation. It kept coming closer to her, raising one long sharp claw towards her as it beared its teeth.

"Stop it! Fuck off! Leave me alone!" her voice was far more terrified than intimidating as she watched it getting closer... closer...

The next thing that happened was sudden, and if Evelyn had blinked she would've missed it. Fire suddenly engulfed the creature who let out a pained howl before dropping to the ground next to her, leaving her unharmed. She stared at the smoke rising up with no clue as to why that had happened, but thankful it did. She was sure she was about to die there.

The next thing that happened wiped her relief away. She watched as a tiny bony hand reached up and was followed by a tiny... man? She was't sure what it was but it had no proper eyes and a gaping mouth with no teeth. She let out a small sound and was about to ask it what it was when she felt another hand on her now. She looked over and could see two more starting to climb on her body. One was on her leg, one was just getting over her arm and grabbing onto a breast to help pull itself onto her chest.

"H-Hey! Stop that! Get off of me!" she yelled as more and more started to crawl on her. She started screaming to try and get someone's attention, anyone's who would explain to her what was happening and get rid of them. Her head was suddenly pulled back and she looked up to see their faces obscuring her view and starting to find her screams dying down into terrified whimpers. Her vision was starting to blur and go dark again as she heard them whispering things around her as she was silenced.

Then, a voice.

"Ah... you've found yourselves a Hunter."

* * * *

She woke with a start, letting out a loud gasp as she came to. When she looked around, there was still light coming in from on the windows. It was still evening... it was just a dream. Just her mind playing tricks on her. It was probably also a side effect of the blood transfusion. 

Speaking of which, she noticed two things right away. One, her chest didn't hurt anymore. She felt the most normal and lucid she had in a very long time. The second was though was her memory of exactly what happened was very hazy. She did remember the old man though, but looking around, there was no one here. She was all alone.

"Uh... hello?" she called as she got up and off of the bed. "Hello? Anyone home? Creepy old man? Doc?"

No response. As she looked around, she noticed that there was note on the desk. Scrawled hastily, all it said was "SEEK PALEBLOOD."

"Yeah, thanks. Doesn't answer the few thousand questions I have." Evelyn muttered as she tossed the note aside. She then turned to the nearest door that she vaguely rememebered as the exit, only to find it locked. Scowling, she gave it a good kick, but it didn't budge.

"Fucker! You want me to kill some assholes but leave me here with nothing?!" Evelyn cursed. She then turned to her right to see another door. Unfortunately, that one was also locked, but when she turned around, there was still one last door. When she tried that one, thankfully it opened up for her. She was finally able to leave, at the very least. She knew though that there was no getting out of here until morning no matter what, so she was still stuck in Yharnam. She still would rather get out of this room though...

As she walked down some stairs, she could honestly admit to herself that she no longer had a plan nor had any clue what was happening. The only thing she was sure of was she was at the very least treated of her illness, if not cured, and she was stuck. After that, she had no idea who that person was, where he went, what sort of pest problem he was talking about and how exactly she was supposed to deal with it.

And that dream? What was with that dream she wondered as she came to the bottom of the stairs. The beast? Those tiny creatures? What the heck was going on there, and why can she remember that as clear as day but not the transfusion? 

_No Evelyn, you're being stupid. It was just a dream. It was just..._

She froze midstep at the sound of something chewing and tear at meat. In the dim light of the next room she could see the thing that came straight out of her dreams across the room. It was no longer covered in blood but showed just how black it was. She could also see it was tearing apart human bodies, and one of them looked really familiar. His wheelchair that was mangled up in the corner was evidence enough. She could see beyond the beast to the opened door to the outside, her one ticket out...

Should she bar herself in upstairs? No, that thing could easily break through the door. It seemed distracted by its meal though. Carefully she crept foward and around, keeping her eyes on the beast while also trying to make sure she didn't bump into anything. It was hard to not make any sort of squeak on the floorboards, but the sound of it devouring the carcass seemed to be louder. 

Suddenly it looked up and directed at her. Evelyn felt her voice being caught in her throat as it suddenly lunged at her with its great claws. She dove beneath and slid on the floor past it and stopped when she hit the half eaten bodies. She scrambled to her feet and tried to make a dash out the door, but then felt something through her back and chest. When she looked down, she could see the clawed hand had gone straight through her as her body fell limp. Even as her vision blacked out so quickly, she still had the realization that she was dead...

But the body did not stay. The body seemed to dissolve into wisps of light and were carried away by an unknown force.


	2. How to be a Hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning to be a Hunter is Hard  
> It doesn't help when there's a Cleric Beast kicking you back to your lamp

The first thing that comes back to Evelyn is her hearing. She could hear white noise around her as her fingers twitched in response to waking up. She could feel she was lying on cold stones face down and let out a groan as she started to get up. When she opened her eyes and looked around she could see an imposing home made of wood before her. There was a set of stairs leading up to the main entrance that extended to the path she was on. On top of a small rise made of stone that was covered with grass, leading up against the bushes was a strange lifelike doll. Now that she was standing, she could see white flower gardens laced with fences and gravestones. There was a gentle fog covering the area, but a chill that Evelyn couldn't shake as she took in The Hunter's Dream, though she didn't know the name of it.

"I..." She was supposed to be dead. Was she still dead? Was this where she would spend her afterlife? Well she couldn't complain too much if that was the case but she must've done something wrong if that doll was there. If this was her afterlife, then she didn't feel like being reminded about what her old man put her through.

"Hello?" she called as she started walking forward, deciding to ignore the doll for now. She glanced down and noticed very familiar figures coming out from the ground near the stairs. Those strange tiny white men from her dream were looking at her curiously, holding a note above their heads as if to offer it to her. Evelyn stared at them for a while, uncertain about whether or not to accept the gift. She slowly inched her hand towards the note and managed to grasp it and take it out of their hands. They seemed very pleased with themselves and sunk back down into the white mist on the ground, vanishing from sight. Evelyn opened up the note and started to read.

Dear Hunter

If you are reading this, then I am very sorry. You have been chosen as a Hunter for this Hunter's Dream. I am Gehrman, the First Hunter. I'm afraid I cannot speak to you at the moment, but these messengers will surely get this to you. Don't be afraid of them. They want nothing more than to help you. I'm sure you have many questions, and I will answer them as best as I can in this message.

You are not dead. You did die, but you're back now. As a Hunter of this Dream you can now come here any time to gain strength, forge your weapons, or even for a small respite. You can go to one of the headstones and return to the waking world of Yharnam. You'll wake up at a lamp. You'll find many of them and they'll help you get around. It'll make more sense as you go, trust me. Your contract is that you will hunt beasts until the nightmare is slain, and morning dawns upon Yharnam. Until then, you are tied to this dream, and the night will last forever.

These messengers will provide you with a firearm and a weapon. They will help you as best as they can. If you're from Yharnam, you can skip these next few paragraphs, but if you're not, you best read carefully so you'll survive more than a few moments out there.

Evelyn kept reading as it explained more about the beasts and how to kill them. It explained the purpose of firearms in a hunt, how to administer blood vials to oneself, and an general overview how things worked. It was signed by the first hunter, and Evelyn pocketed the note for later. She looked at the stairs and saw that there were three groups of messengers, all offering her a weapon of choice. The note said to pick one. One was a strange looking saw, one was a sword...cane...? She wasn't sure. The last one though was an axe, clearly more designed for cutting heads than for wood. Thinking about that beast that killed her in one fell swoop, she rather go with something like that.

She picked it up out of their hands, and all three bundles disappeared. Then a little further up the stairs, two more messenger groups came up offering her either the Blunderbuss, or the Pistol. She picked the pistol, and the others disappeared. It had a handy little hook so she could place it on her belt. She then noticed something odd about her axe. She grabbed it by both ends of the handle and pulled. Much to her surprise, it extended out now to be nearly as long as she was tall. Holding it in her hands now, she felt like she could take out that beast in the clinic with its long reach.

She was ready.

Seeing that the house was shut tight, she turned to a gravestone that had messengers waving her towards it. She knelt down in front of it as the note instructed her to and reached her hand down to the messengers. She felt one gently grab her finger and pulled her to the first available lamp. She felt the world around her melt away, when it was really her dissolving into wisps of light as she was taken back to the waking world.

* * * *

Her awakening was much more natural this time. She opened her eyes and she was standing back in the clinic on the first floor at the base of the stairs again. Looking down she could see a lit lantern surrounded by praying messengers. In her hands was her Hunter's Axe, and on her belt was the pistol, fully loaded and ready whenever she was. She looked behind her and could see the door was closed now. Curiously she walked up the stairs to see a woman standing behind the broken glass windows of the door now, though most of her was just a shadow due to the glass being dirted as it was

"Are you a hunter?" she asked as soon as Evelyn got close enough.

Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I am now."

"I'm sorry, I can't let you in. I need to protect my patients from infection."

"You mean there's actual patients in there? Where the hell were they? Where the hell were you when I dropped in earlier?" Evelyn frowned a tilted her head.

"I... I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about. Perhaps you met my assistant? I haven't seen him in a while come to think of it..."

Evelyn's eyes turned downwards, "Uh... I'm afraid you uh... may need to go looking for a new one."

There was a sigh, "...I see. Thank you at least for letting me know..." The shadow behind the door shifted and then stuck a hand through. In her hand was what looked to be a specially labeled vial of blood, "I can at least offer this to help you tonight."

Evelyn smiled a little and took it out of her gloved hand, "Thanks, I appreciate it. Listen, if you want I can come back later and see if you need anything?"

"Oh! Well..." The woman stuck her hand back in and thought for a moment, "I don't think I'll need anything, but getting updates is not a bad thing. Thank you Good Hunter. Good luck."

Evelyn walked back down the stairs and she pocketed the vial. Now came the real test. She quietly crept into the next room and saw the same beast still tearing away at its dinner. This time she kept low and quiet, stalking towards it. She was the hunter now, it was her prey. Once she got close enough, she raised her axe behind her and then brought it down over her head and onto its body, using momentum and gravity to help her along. The frightening beast was now flat on its stomach with an axe through its spine. She put her foot on the unmoving body and pulled it out, the first victim of Evelyn's axe was now on the floor, ad she couldn't help but feel some satisfation in that.

"That's what you get bitch." she grinned at it before stepping over its body and all the other ones and moving into the hall. She stopped for a moment when she noticed someone had dropped their blood vials. Hoping they were not old, she picked all three of them up and tucked them into her pocket, which she was quickly running out of room in.

Finally she was outside the building. She took a deep breath and found the air to be crisp and dry, but also having an strange scent in it. The scent of blood was very strong, but there was also something else she didn't have a name for. It wasn't healthy though, she could tell that much. She could see she was in a small courtyard that was walled off around her with two iron gates. She went towards the one on her left, and much to her surprise, it did open for her. Standing on the street she could now see the great ravines this town was build around that stretched for miles. Even from the outside she could see that this was a huge maze of streets, twists and turns, brick buildings and towers, and somewhere in there was the thing she had to kill. Easy enough, right?

When was it ever easy?

She turned to her right and saw next to a small wagon piled with bags her first 'half beast.' Even from a distance Evelyn could tell something was wrong with him. His arm holding a torch was far hairier than any human's should be and was longer than normal. He was slightly hunched over, mumbling some nonsense or other to himself, and beneath his tophat his face seemed to be growing fur, or hairs or... well, it was more than a beard.

"Uh..." she spoke up as she drew closer to him. He turned towards her and confirmed her suspicion. He seemed crazed, his eyes wide opened and wild. He let out a bellow and charged her, screaming at her that she was a beast, when really she was the most human thing on the streets. She was no stranger to killing people though, and madmen were no different. She swung her axe at him and it impaled his side. He staggered, but she could see it wasn't enough to kill or even incapacitate him. Clenching her jaw she ripped it out and brought it down upon his head, his skull splitting as he hit the pavement.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on here. As she ripped the axe out and sprayed some more blood doing so, she stared at the corpse taking a moment to piece together the jumble of thoughts. These pests, these beasts, were a disease. This curse or whatever this was on Yharnam was slowly turning people into what she killed back in he clinic. Yet not everyone had this problem. The woman back at the clinic seemed very normal. Not to mention didn't she mention not wanting any exposure to her paitents...?

"Fuck..." Evelyn groaned. She just got rid of one disease and now there was one running rampant that threatened to wipe this city off of the face of the earth, and very likely would if a source was not found. This beastly scourge then were of people who were too far gone and had to be culled before they infected the healthy. Though really, how long had this been going on for? How many 'healthy' were left?

She decided she was about to find out. If anything she should try to help those people out.

Up a ladder she went, onto a higher street finding a house with a man hacking his lungs out in front of her. Also in front of her was another lamp. All she had to do was snap her fingers next to it, and it lit up just fine, and the messengers popped out of the ground when she did. She looked up to the window whee a lamp burning with incense was hung outside and came a bit closer. She couldn't help but feel some pity for whoever was in there. That was her only a couple hours ago.

She lightly tapped on the window, "Hey, do you need anything in there?"

The coughing continued for a moment before ther person took a deep breath in there, "Ah, afraid ya can't do much for me. Thank you though."

As soon as he talked she could tell he wasn't from Yharnam, "Who are you?"

"I'm Gilbert, a fellow outsider." he replied before breaking out into aother coughing fit. He was far worse off than Evelyn was it seemed, "I can hear it in your voice. You're not from around here."

"No. I came here to get treated... guess it doesn't work on everyone. I'm sorry."

"It's quite alright. I'm glad it helped you at least." Gilbert paused for a moment, "What's your name?"

"Evelyn."

"Evelyn? That's lovely name. Ah, you must've had a fine time of it. Yharnam has a... special way of treating guests."

She gave a humorless chuckle, "Tell me about it."

"Well... I don't think I could stand if I wanted to, but I'm willing to help, if anything can be done."

Evelyn smiled a little, "I appreciate that. Maybe you can help me figure this whole mess out then? I wasn't given much to go on."

He laughed a little before breaking into a coughing fit, "Sounds about right. I can tell you that this town is cursed. Whatever your reasons might be, you should plan a swift exit. Whatever can be gained from this place will do more harm that good."

"I kinda figured that out myself, but unfortunately I don't think I can leave until this mess is dealt with. I get the feeling it won't be easy to deal with either. My only hint was 'Seek Paleblood."

"Paleblood hm...?" Gilbert seemed to think for a moment, "Never heard of it. But if it's blood you're interested in you could try the Healing Church. The Church controls all knowledge of blood ministration and all varieties of blood. Across the valley to the East of Yharnam lies the town of the Healing Church, known as the Cathedral Ward. And deep within Cathedral Ward is the old grand cathedral... the birthplace of the the Healing Church's special blood, or so they say."

Evelyn raised a brow, "Sounds like it's worth visiting. Might give some hints as to what the hell's going on here."

"Yes..." he then fell into another coughing fit before continuing, "Yharnamites don't share much with outsiders. Normally they wouldn't let you near the place but... the hunt is on tonight. This might be your chance."

"Alright, thanks Gilbert." Evelyn nodded at him, "If you want I can check in on you later."

"I wouldn't mind that Evelyn. Thank you, and good luck."

He broke out into another coughing fit as Evelyn walked away, giving the house one sad look. The gate to the left where his window was firmly shut, so her only way forward was to the right down a path. As she rounded the corner, on the end of a little bridge she found another one of those madmen charging through barrels and breaking them wth a rusty old sword. She didn't hesitate to put her Axe through him. It seemed that at this stage people were hostile to anyone who was normal, most likely they were too far gone at this point. If a disease tured on into a beast, it surely rotted their brains to the point where nothing mattered anymore.

_You should plan a swift exit._

"I don't plan on ending up like these poor fools."

She took another turn and watched as more madmen started to walk up the streets below, muttering and whining to themselves. She could see a few homes with incense burning, and watched as the madmen kept their distance from each lantern. She could see now, this was the bloodiest part of the hunt. All of these madmen, slowly going somewhere only they knew, not yet a beast but also no longer human and sane. She took a deep breath, then vaulted herself over the fence and dropped down onto the shoulders of one, nearly flattening him with her weight as she brought down the Axe into the skull of another. She pulled it out and took two grand swings to catch three more that were about to swing at her, the gashes she made in them causing them to fall over. The one she landed on started to get up, and she turned around and brought the axe down into him.

That's how it went, all the way up the street. She discovered that some had guns and dogs, and those needed the be taken care of first. The mangey mutts looked terrible, some their fur balding in places, but they had an awful bite. All the other men would come and attack her, but she had picked a weapon very suited for crowd control, and her wide swings kept them back away from her.

Stabbing a vial blood into her left thigh to heal some injuries, she came to a large wooden door. She could hear something heavy pounding against it, and decided against opening it up. She could see a way around it was available up some stirs and onto a slightly higher elevation. When she got to the other side of the gate she could see now what was pounding on it. A different kind of beast she assumed, and ogre of some sort was banging his large fist against a wall. She shortened her axe and grabbed her pistol on her belt. The creature slowly turned aroud as she vaulted over the fence and started to walk towards him. Now, it was time to try this little trick. The ogre raised its thick arm above his head to strike, and just as he was doing so, Evelyn shot it with the pistol. It had the desired effect of staggering him. She dropped her axe on the floor to free up her dominant hand. This was gross, she knew it, but if she wanted to kill this thing quickly this was the best way. She shoved her hand inside its body with all the force she could muster, ripping through blubbery flesh, going up behind the ribcage and finding a still beating heart. She grasped it, and ripped it out of its chest is a single motion, blood flying everywhere, and the ogre fell over, not moving.

By now, it felt like every inch of her was covered in blood, and she had no way to get rid of it. All the same, she decided to backtrack a little back to the houses, see if she could do anything for the people inside. Hopefully they wouldn't open the door to see what sort of bloody mess she was. She knocked on the ones with incense still burning, and got rude answers in response.

"Are you that outsider? Well I'm sorry but I want nothing to do with ya!"

"Who the hell would open their door in the night of a hunt?! Get along will ya!"

Evelyn grumbled a little as she walked back to where the ogre was. So much for helping these people. At least Gilbert was nice she supposed. As she came back towards the ogre though, she could hear laughing in another house. It wasn't the joyous kind though, it was the manic kind, which didn't bode well. If people inside were starting to go bad, then what hope did this town really have left?

She wasn't sure exactly how she got here, but she did come to a bridge crossing a ravine, and could see more of Yharnam on the other side. This must've been the Great Bridge Gilbert had been talking about. Alright, that was relatively easy. She could handle this. It was just a straight shot across. There should be...

She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a mighty shriek. She looked up ad could see a hulking, massive beast standing on a street on the other side. Out of its head were large curled horns, its one side larger than the other with long fur. It made one great bound towards her and landed on the bridge, making it tremble beneath Evelyn's feet. It screeched at her as she started to back away, clearly taken off guard by it. How was she supposed to kill this? How was she supposed to destroy this creature that was far bigger than she was?

It was fast. It reached out and grabbed Evelyn with its larger, hairier hand, raising her up in the air and causing her to drop her weapon. She couldn't even scream as the air seemed to have left her lungs. She struggled to the best of her ability, but the creature threw her down with all the force it could muster and she made an audible splat when she hit the bridge. Her corpse was not a pretty sight as her bones broke and her skull had been cracked open, piercing her skin and causing blood to flow out beneath her. Just like before however, her body along with her weapons were taken away by an unknown force, out of danger.

She woke up with a gasp back at the lantern next to Gilbert's home. She felt herself over to find her bones were no longer broken, and indeed were all intact. She looked beside her to see her axe was also returned. She could hear Gilbert coughing in front of her as she stood up. For a moment she wondered if he had any idea she was there. Probably not, considering his state.

She let out a groan and covered her now clean face with her clean hands. How on earth was she supposed to get there now? How could she kill such a massive beast? How was she supposed to deal with all of this on her own?

She decided to return to the Hunter's Dream. She needed to think.


	3. The Third Maria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hunter is never alone. She has a friend, and a mentor.  
> Sadly, there is also not so friendly company

The first thing Evelyn noticed upon appearing in the Hunter's Dream was the doll. She was now standing up on her own. Beneath a bonnet was silvery hair to match inhumanely pale skin. The dress itself was full of fancy embrodery, but what really drew Evelyn's attention was her eyes. She seemed... lifeless, in a way. All of her was clearly fabricated.

"Ah, hello good hunter." she spoke in a soft voice. Evelyn glanced around for a moment, unsure really of what to make of this, so the Doll continued. "I am a doll, here in this Dream to accompany you."

"Yeah I got the Doll part." Evelyn stepped closer, leaning forward a it as she studied the other woman with a puzzled look, "How in the god damn are you standing, or talking or... anything really?"

"Honorable Hunter... persue the echoes of Blood, and I will channel them into your strength. You will hunt beasts, and I will be here for you."

"Not going to answer me..." Evelyn sighed as she rubbed her temples, "Just give me ten thousand more questions. Do you at least have a name?"

The doll shook her head, "I do not need one."

"What? What do you mean you don't need one? Is it because no one bothered to name you?" Evelyn put her hands on her hips, "The hell kind of bullshit is that? Well give me a minute and I'll come up with one for you."

The Doll tilted her head, "Good Hunter... you've no need..."

"Evelyn. My name is Evelyn, not Good Hunter. You don't need to be formal with me."

"I..." The doll seemed very confused by this new Hunter. She certainly was much different from the other ones before her. Clearly she was not from Yharnam, but she must be from a completely different place than any other hunter she's met, "...very well Evelyn."

"See, that's not so hard. Now, a name for you. Actually, I can think of one while I ask questions." Evelyn straightened up, "Just what is this place? Is it an actual dream or some part of Yharnam or...?"

"It is not a dream, but it is not part of Yharnam, or the waking world, either. This is a place outside of all that. Outside of your hometown as well."

Evelyn sighed a little, "Doesn't answer my question but I'll take it. Alright here's my next one. What are blood echoes?"

"They are echoes of the beasts you kill. I can convert them into strength."

"Still doesn't really answer my question, but I guess I'll figure it out. Ok next one, who is Gehrman?"

The Doll seemed to brighten up a little, "Ah, Gehrman! He was a hunter, long, long ago, but now only serves to advise them. He is inside. You should speak to him."

_Maybe I'll finally get some answers then_ , was Evelyn's first thought, but she didn't say it aloud. Instead, "That's not a bad idea. Thanks. You seem like..." Evelyn tilted her head as she looked at the patterning of the dress, "...A Maria, or a Rosa."

"Maria...?" The doll tilted her head, "... It... feels like a name suited for me, yet not..."

"Uh..." Evelyn glanced to the side for a moment, unsure of what her answer meant, "Um... how about just Mary then? Or Marie?"

There was a hint of a smile on the Doll's face, which Evelyn took as a good sign, "...Mary sounds nice. I think I may like Mary..."

"Well, I'll keep calling you Mary then. You just tell me if you're not too happy with the name and we can change it. Do you like better than being called 'The Doll?'"

She nodded, "I believe so."

Evelyn grinned at her triumphantly, "Alright, Mary it is! I guess we'll be talking to each other a lot then, so that'll give it time for the name to stick. Any who." She waved at the doll, "I'm going to talk to Gehrman now. See you later Mary."

The Doll bowed a little, "Farewell Good Hunter."

"Evelyn, and I told you, you don't have to be formal around me."

Up the stairs to the previous shut door of the house Evelyn walked until she came to the doorway. Inside there were desks and bookshelves with many stacks of loose books. Off to the left a bit was an old man sitting in a wheelchair. Beneath an old crumpled hat was gray hair falling to his shoulders and a tired, worn down face. He was holding onto a cane, heping to support him in his chair as he learned forward. Evelyn could only assume he did this because he was more comfortable that way.

He looked up a little when she walked in the door and managed a weary smile, "Ah haa... you must be the new Hunter."

"The one and only, I guess." Evelyn shrugged as she came closer, "Then you must be Gehrman. Appreciate the note by the way."

"Ah... yes. I'm glad you remember... sometimes I don't." he chuckled at his own joke.

"Hey don't go forgetting everything now, otherwise we're really screwed here. Of all the people you could've gotten, it ended up being me."

"Well, that's what the note is for. Afraid I slept in during your arrival. I'm glad it was of some help." He turned a little to see Evelyn better, "Hmm... Evelyn right? My ears were not decieving me?"

"Hey, you got your hearing still. That's pretty good." Evelyn nodded with a small smile. She could see past the pleasantness of this man however. He was tired, in the worn down sort of way, not the 'need a nap' sort of way, "I hope you know I have about a thousand questions."

"Heheh well... I'm afraid I don't have a thousand answers. To be honest, you're better off just not thinking about all of this too much. Just go out and kill some beasts... it's for your own good."

"Yeah until a Giant one threw me into a bridge and back to the Lamp."

He raised a brow, "You already met one of the Giant Cleric Beasts?"

"That's what they're called?"

"Yes. But don't worry too much. They can die just like any other beast."

Evelyn folded her arms and frowned, "It threw me into a bridge. I'm pretty sure I was spattered onto it."

Gehrman gave a wry smile, "Ah, that's where you went wrong. Rule number one: do not hesitate to kill a beast, for it will surely kill you. The second, is stay out of its reach. Of course that seems obvious, but when a beast can reach far and leap, how does one do that? Well, I'll let you in on a secret." He leaned forward a little more, and Evelyn knelt down a bit in response, "They can't reach very well behind them, can they? They might even turn slower than you'd think.

Evelyn understood what he was getting at. _Stay behind it as best as you can._ That meant a lot of risky diving behind it, but it made sense to do it. Cut it down at the legs, then go for the kill.

"Alright, I think I can do that. Maybe..."

"You're a small woman, clever as well, I'm sure you'll think of something once you stop doubting yourself, and you'll stop doubting when you stop trying to figure all this out."

Evelyn straightened herself up and scowled at him, folding her arms across her chest, "...why would I not want to figure this out?"

Gehrman didn't answer for a moment, "...it's not like I can stop you of course, but some things are truly best left alone, for your sake, if nothing else."

That was just even more incentive to figure out what was truly going on in this place she was trapped in. How could you kill your enemy if you did not know it after all. How did this even all begin? Someone had to know, someone had to have left something if the First Hunter would not speak. 

Gehrman pursed his lips before sighing, "...Tonight will prove to be interesting... without a doubt."

* * * *

In the depths of central Yharnam were the madmen groaned was a very small one roomed house. It's incense lamp was lit, so the beasts stayed away, and inside every lamp was on to help ward off the chill of the night. She sat on the only chair in the house, cleaning out her gun to the best of her ability. Next to her were a couple of knives she had been busy sharpening. To the woman named after hunters, incense meant little, and if a beast was about to come barging in here, she should be prepared.

There's a knock on her door, but she knew it wasn't some poor fool wanting to be let in or some beast. It was a single knock followed by three short quick ones. It was a code she was familiar with, one that only her employer and his messengers knew. She placed the gun aside and let out a groan as she got up. She wasn't supposed to work on nights like these, so why was she being bothered? All the same she slid the deadbolt over and opened the door to see a cloaked man holding a letter.

"I don't work on hunts." her voice was quiet and smooth, "I'm not that kind of Hunter."

The man's lips turned into a smile, "I know. I'm just delivering for the boss." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a letter. She seemed to glare daggers into it before snatching it out of his hands and slamming the door shut on him. Instead of him begging to be let back in off of the streets, he laughed instead. She dragged the deadbolt across as he walked away, paying no mind the sound of him screaming when the beast finally pounced on him for making too much noise.

She hardly cared, just like most Yharnamites.  You had to grow a hard set of skin and distance yourself if you lived in this sort of place. Death was very common, and the hunters here were dwindling in numbers because of the very people they served and the beasts who threatened to wiped them off of this earth. The locals here were mostly comprised of stubborn, faithful, mad, and sick. Maria Holland was in the stubborn category. She was not a hunter, but an Assasin named after a famous one. Yes, she heard much about her predacessor, Lady Maria, but she was not nearly as honourable, not nearly as kind.

Yharnam very quickly snuffed out people like that, or changed them for good.

Adjusting the ribbon that held her blonde hair back she opened the note. As usual, it was signed by The Choir, even though she was certain hiring mercenaries wasn't part of the Choir body. This was most likely a single man or woman who needed people out of the way, or perhaps not even part of that highest standing at all. Whatever the case, Maria didn't care. It paid, and it got rid of troublesome people, also known as outsiders. Outsiders brought trouble. Outsiders took people. Outsiders are the reason people are turning into beasts because they are not pure...

All of that was mindless drivel that was drilled into her head and made it possible to do what she did guilt free.

It wasn't every outsider she took out. It was the sick ones you had to look out for: extra points if they have no way of paying for their treatments. There was still that one man in a house on the upper levels, but he was going to die very soon anyways, and it wasn't worth the effort. The one she was reading about now, the one that the gatekeeper told about, was someone she did need to dispose of, and quickly. A Hunter, a new one. The gatekeeper said when she came here was sick, but now she was purging the streets. 'As green as they come. Should be easy.' it said. It gave a description of the target as per usual.

Maria let out a small sigh as she looked over to her garbs hanging on the wall along with a blade from Cainhurst she knicked off of a trader. She supposed if this was such an easy job, she could kill a few beasts on her way. The faster she did it, the less people would notice. No one from this hunter's hometown would come looking for her either. They probably assume she had died of the illness.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigar, lighting it on one of her lanterns. She took a nice, long, slow puff of it to relax her a bit more. She wasn't a fan of using blood for that purpose. She tried to use it as little as possible in fact. She had seen hunters who depend on it like a drug and slowly fall deeper into madness. She wasn't going to be one of those people. She rather the smokes over the madness that came with blood.

Doning her attire and placing her gun and sword on her hilt along with her knives, she walked out into the cool night. Looking up at the skies, an odd feeling came over her. There was something strange about this one. Something was... wrong, more wrong than usual. 

She took another puff before turning her eyes to the streets where madmen were starting to notice her. Ah, this was familiar. After all, she was a hunter once. It was for a short time, but there was still something about the hunt that called to her, much to her dismay. She held the cigar steady in her mouth as one started to rush to her. Without a single warning, she turned, unsheathed the sword, and sliced the man open from the crotch up in one smooth motion. With the Chikage in her hand and her gun in the other, she began to walk towards the Great Bridge. The letter said her target was last seen heading towards there.

_Maria. I named you after one of the greatest hunters of our time. It was my hope, and your father's, that we would be able to raise you to be better than those brutes out there. I hope you will not fall into the trap that so many others have. The trap of madness, the trap of evil..._

 

"It's ok Mama." she mumbled as the memory returns to her. It always did when walking down the streets on nights like this, "I'm keeping evil out."

_After all, it was an outsider that killed you... right?_

A loud shriek caught Maria's attention and she looked up. On the Great Bridge was a Cleric Beast, shrieking and screaming at something. She spat her cigar on the ground as she took off running to get up to it. Even if she wasn't a hunter anymore she couldn't let that thing run wild. What was it attacking though? Was it her target? Oh how she hoped it was her target. That would make her life so much easier. Maybe it was some madmen, that would be good too. Worst case scenario it was attacking an innocent civilian, but considering how long the noise was lasting, she doubted it. They would be dead by now. No... no someone knew what they were doing. Another Hunter then?

She raced up the stairs and to the start of the Great Bridge just in time to see the beast fall. Standing there in front of the body was a woman. Looking over her, she could tell that this was her intended target who was supposed to be 'as green as they come.' So then how did she manage to kill a Cleric Beast? She watched as the woman stepped over the body and snapped her fingers before kneeling down and vanishing into wisps of light.

It was then Maria finally understood. This woman was a chosen hunter, like she had been before. A Hunter chosen by the dream, by a Great One that would soon grow powerful.

She reached into her jacket for another cigar. This was not going to be nearly as easy as she thought it would be, and if there was a chosen Hunter tonight, then it would not be a short one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She is not titled the Third Maria, though she should be. This refers to Lady Maria -> The Doll (Evelyn named Mary) -> Maria Holland


	4. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn learns some things, including children exist in Yharnam.

Evelyn soon learned what The Doll meant by Blood Echoes. She noticed something was starting to pump through her veins, a temporary boost before becoming nothing. When she killed the Cleric Beast however, she felt a sudden rush, a burst of echoes through her. When she returned to the dream, the Doll seemed pleased.

"You're starting to understand, that is good Evelyn. Here, let me have your hand."

Evelyn held out her hand for the Doll to take. Instand she felt something in her body shift, but in a good way. She felt it get stronger, she felt her heart beating a little better now, but there was something else too, something she couldn't quite describe. It was power, she knew that, but she didn't know the name of it. As the doll let go of her hand, she pulled it back and stared at her wide eyed.

"I don't know what you just did Mary, but I think it helped me out." Evelyn said but then folded her arms and looked at her with a puzzled expression, "But uh... how do I ask this?"

"You felt a strange power, didn't you?" The Doll asked with a small smile, "I wondered if you would gain those powers. With time and echoes and through mediums, you may soon be able to use Arcane, or magic."

Evelyn's eyes widened as she clapsed her hands together instead, "Magic?!" She had aways been a fan of magic in fairytales, but she didn't think she'd ever use it. 

"You seem to have the mind for it. But do be careful with it. People who delve into the Arcane fall easily to madness." 

Evelyn lowered her hands to her sides, clearly not quite as excited, "Uh... yeah I'll be careful. Promise." She put her hands in her pockets and looked around for a moment, "...how long have you been here Mary?"

"Ah... as long as Gehrman has. I'm not so sure anymore how much time has passed."

Evelyn raised a brow, "...this place, you said it was outside of Yharnam and everywhere else. So are we on some floating island in the sky or what?"

The Doll giggled a little, "No, not a floating island. It's a land made by the Gods."

"Eh?" Evelyn looked even more perplexed as she put her hands on her hips, "Like those stories of a fairy world?"

"I suppose yes. The only way you can enter is to be chosen. The little ones are always looking for a good hunter. They love them, and will do anything to help them. Aren't they sweet?"

Evelyn looked over to the messengers by the gravestone and shrugged, "Yeah, in a creepy sort of way, but I'm glad they're on my side." She then looked over to the Doll, "You said this was made by the Gods. You know which one?"

The Doll shook her head, "She does not have a name, and I'm not sure if she is worshipped down there. You may find out more in the waking world."

"Is it any God I might be familiar with?" Evelyn was doubtful, but she figured she'd ask anyways.

"I do not think so Good Hunter. The Gods here are unique as far as I've heard."

She nodded, "Ok... I think that's the end of my triade of questions. Thank you Mary."

"Farewell Evelyn." she bowed to her hunter, even though she had been told not to, "May you find your worth in the Waking World."

"You don't need to bow. We'll work on it." Evelyn gave her a small smile before walking up the stairs. At least a few things were starting to make sense now. She had never been the religious type, but she did hold the belief that Gods were real. If anything this was more proof to it. Magic was also exciting, as long as she was careful. As she entered the workshop, Gehrman had apparently not moved at all since they last spoke. She supposed considering his lack of mobility it made sense. He wasn't paying attention to her, so she took the time to study him over a little more. She noticed his right leg was missing, replaced with a peg. The age and weariness reflected on his face was someone that had to be 60 years or more, but the Doll said she had lost track of time. How old was he really? How many days, years, centuries, had he been here for?

"What was it like, being the first hunter?" Evelyn suddenly spoke up, catching Gehrman's attention, "I'm not looking for all the gory details. I'm just... curious, as to how all this began."

Gehrman thought for a moment before leaing back, letting a breath through his nose, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you a little. But you should know, curiosity killed the cat."

"Good thing cats have nine lives." Evelyn replied as she got closer, sitting on an empty desk. That seemed to have gotten a chuckle out of him.

"One of these days that's going to bite you."

Evelyn shrugged a little, "It already has. Nothing new."

"Well..." Gehrman turned his chair a little to face her better, "This was way back. There was once a college ful of scholars who found ruins beneath Yharnam. They found many things, but the most important, was the Old Blood. That is the key component in Yharnam's Blood Ministration. Soon after... ah, I'm sorry... my memory is failing me, but the beasts did come. I worked day in and day out... that Hunter Axe you have? My design. I made all sorts of trick weapons to help in the Hunt..."

Evelyn wasn't sure it was a bad memory, or he was leaving out details on purpose. She didn't know him well enough however to make that call, so she did't say anything. "The beasts came from those tombs?" she asked, "Or I guess, the disease."

"So you've noticed.  Yes, it did come from there." Gehrman nodded.

"It's spreading through the town. Even people inside aren't sounding so good. Isn't there any way to stop the spread?"

Gehrman said nothing for a moment, "... I don't know. You are a strange hunter. Most I've had complete their contracts and leave... yet you..."

"Huh, maybe that's why Mary looks at me weirdly sometimes."

"Mary?" Gehrman tilted his head slightly.

"The doll outside. You didn't name her so I gave her a name. Why didn't you name her? Where did she even come from?"

Evelyn watched his eyes grow dark when she asked. He didn't say a word and Evelyn felt the mood shift. Apparently asking about the Doll was a mistake, but that made her even more curious as to the situation between them. The Doll seemed to adore Gehrman, but he...

"Um... you know what, never mind." Evelyn slid off of the desk, "I'm going to try and get to the Cathedral Ward. Might find a hint as to where our uh..."

"Nightmare." Gehrman finished her sentence, "You're looking for a Nightmare."

"Uh... ok." Evelyn rubbed the back of her neck, "Not helpful but I guess I'll figure it out."

She left him there, picking up her axe that she had left near the doll. She waved at her before kneeling down and returning to the Waking World. The faster she got out of that house, the better. She didn't like the way he was glowering.

* * * *

Maria had waited a while, fending off the madmen with ease when they came close. With the last of her Cigar dying down she heard a familiar sound and looked up to see her target manifesting at the end of the bridge. Maria watched her walk over to the door at the end and try to open it with no avail. Maria knew it would be locked, which meant this bridge was a dead end, and a good time normally to take out her target. The only problem was of course the fact that she couldn't kill her target, not permanently. If she killed Evelyn here, she would just come back after all. She had to get creative, had to find  a different way to put down this outsider.

"STUPID PIECE OF SHIT DOOR!" Maria heard her target curse and kicked the door. Ah, this was certainly an outsider alright. The way she talked was a dead give away. Taking one last puff, she threw her smoke to the ground and crushed it beneath her foot. Now how was Maria going to kill this moon touched Hunter? This was obviously beyond her call of duty. This was supposed to be easy, not 'kill a Moon Hunter in the middle of a beastly hunt.' Moon Hunters don't die until they're released from the dream, Maria remembered that much. She couldn't remember how she was released from the dream however. She vaguely remembered a Doll and an Old Man, but nothing else. Her employment had been very short lived, and she didn't know why.

Maria looked up at the sound of footsteps, She quickly hid herself behind one of the many coffins lining the streets as her target got closer. Evelyn did stop for a moment, probably thinking on where to go next, which gave Maria time to look her over and get in a few more details. She was a pretty woman, and just by looking at her stance she could tell she had spirit. It would not be easy to dissuade her from any sort of course she had decided on taking.

"Uh, you can stop hiding in there."

Maria's heart skipped a beat when Evelyn looked right at her and called her out. She must not have hidden herself very well. Either way, it was useless to try and kill her now. She would just come back. No, perhaps she should learn more about her target. Knowing your enemy had its benefits, and it wasn't ike Maria coud do anything to her now anywas. Maria slipped out of her hiding place and gave her a respectful bow.

"Sorry about that, hard to tell who's going mad and who's not these days." she quickly came up with an excuse. Hopefully her target would buy it. When she straightened up, the other woman shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean, I just got here so, you don't really gotta worry about that with me. Also, no need to bow. I'm just some lady who got tossed headfirst into this."

"Well, even outsiders deserve some respect." Maria instantly regretted letting that out of her mouth, but the Hunter just rolled her eyes.

"I noticed you guys don't fancy me much. Don't worry, I'm getting the hell out of here the second a wagon leaves."

Maria laughed a little, "Can't imagine why you'd want to leave. I'm sure your hometown is much nicer."

"Valismet has its bad side, but it certainly beats this. People turning into beasts after finding some miracle cure? Sounds like something out of a horror novel, but here we are." The other woman then waved her hand a little in greeting, "I'm Evelyn, by the way."

"Maria. Maria Holland. I'm a hunter." The last part was a lie, but maybe if she gained this woman's trust, she could learn a bit more.

"That's a nice name. Listen, this shit is going to keep going until I find some sort of nightmare, and I think it's across the way here," Evelyn pointed down the bridge, "But it's kinda locked up. Any ideas on alternative routes?"

Maria thought for a moment, and knowing full well what was down there, she replied, "Well... you could try the Aquaducts. Not a pleasant place, but it does run that way, and perhaps a ladder will take you up."

"That's just a fancy name for sewer, isn't it?"

Maria smiled a little, "Ah, but nothing you can't handle, right Good Hunter?"

Evelyn sighed, "God help me. Well," She gave another wave, "Thanks for the info, and uh, if this gets me killed I will kick your ass. Just so you know."

Maria wasn't entirely sure if she was joking or not. Did she see her intentions? Deciding to play dumb, she just giggled, "I'm sure you'll be fine."

But as Maria pointed Evelyn in the right direction, she couldn't help but feel something was wrong here. She wasn't sure if the hunter was on to her or not. She felt this growing nervousness in her gut as she watched Evelyn weave her way through the coffins and down the ladder. She watched her until she vanished from sight before starting to walk back to the main square, chewing her lower lip as the feeling started to fester.

Her mother's voice reminds her to do good, like it always does every time she must off a target, but she felt like she was remembering that sounding more desperate than before...

* * * *

Bonnie had been waiting far too long for her family to return home.

It started with her father. He was a Hunter, and as the night came down upon them he seemed to get the notion that it would be long. Bonnie remembered him standing up from the rocking chair, his old bones creaking a little as he straightened himself out. He took the Axe from the wall mount and the gun off of the shelf. Bonnie had run up to him as he started to walk out the door, asking him where he was going.

"Ah, Daddy has work right now. It's going to be a long night." he knelt down to her with a smile she didn't know was fake, "You stay here with your mum and sister ok? Can you be a good girl while I'm gone?"

Bonnie had nodded eagerly, "Yeah! I can do that!"

"Good girl." He ruffled her hair with his big paw of a hand a little before standing up straight, "I'll be back before you know it. Don't worry."

Bonnie waved to him as he left. She heard her mother coming downstairs, and when she turned to look at her, there was something grave in her eyes. She was worried, but her mum was always worried about her father. She had every reason to be. Even naive Bonnie saw how her father wasn't well. She watched her mother come down the stairs and sit on the chair in utter silence. Irene followed next, but her usual expression was far more serious than normal. Bonnie wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she never could quite get the words out. 

The hours ticked by. Irene was sitting beside Bonnie who was trying to read children's books. Their mother had not moved an inch, turning her gaze from the door, to her children, to her lap. She was squeezing her hands together, sometimes so tight that her knuckles went white. Bonnie got up more than once to hug her mother, who seemed to feel better each time she did. The last time she hugged her mother, she was scooped up into her lap and held close for a long time. Even Irene came over and held her mother, who also brought her up to snuggle with her sister.

It felt like ages they sat there, but their mother did take a breath, and started to talk to them.

"I'm going to find your father." she said. The two girls looked up, Irene's face turning into a terrified one.

"But mom...! The Beasts...!" Irene started to shout.

"I know." their mother started to push them off of her lap so she could stand, "I shouldn't be long, alright. Listen to me, under no circumstance are you to open that door unless it's father or I returning home or..." she took another deep breath, "...or morning comes and neither of us are home."

"Mummy...?" Bonnie tugged on her skirt, her face showing how upset she was starting to become.

"It's ok." Bonnie felt her hand on her head, "It'll be alright. I won't be long."

She refilled the lamp with oil, grabbed her coat, and left her two girls in the safety of her home. Irene took Bonnie's hand and led her over to their play corner to try and distract themselves. Bonnie was a little more successful than Irene, who's pencil hardly moved on her drawings. Even though her sister only spoke when need be, Bonnie had learned how to read her sister like one of her books. The fact that she wasn't drawing meant she was upset, most likely worried for her mother.

"...I'm going to look for mum." She finally said after what felt like an eternity. Bonnie looked up at her in shock as her sister so quickly scrambled to her feet.

"But Irene...!" Bonnie stood up, "Mum said...!"

"It's been hours! She said she wouldn't be long, so I'll find her."

"I'll come with you!" Bonnie reahed over to grab Irene's arm, but the older and taller girl tore it away before she could.

"No! You stay here. Someone has to stay here incase they come back!" Irene's brown eyes were narrowed, knowing her sister would be insistent.

"But...!"

"You stay here, and if I don't find mum, I'll come back."

That was hours ago now. The oil lamp was starting to die down, and Bonnie was all alone. She had long since gotten bored of playing with her dolls. She couldn't bring herself to read her book anymore. Instead she sat in the corner, curled up in a small ball with the precious music box at her side. Her mother and sister had both forgotten it, silly them. They should've known better. She wished they would come back and get it so perhaps she wouldn't worry so much. It was hard to watch the light flickering from the lantern as she could hear echoes of the beasts outside...

Wasn't it just yesterday that she was playing in the streets of Yharnam? Wasn't it just yesterday that her family were all together and happy...?

Staring at the musicbox she started to recall how much they really depended on it lately. Sometimes her father would begin snarling like a beast, sometimes he forgot them, sometimes he would start running outside because he could've sworn there was a beast when truly nothing was there. In times like that, they would play the music box him and he would go back to normal. Mother would talk him down, and he would go back to being her dad again. It was scary when he wasn't himself, but her mother always took care of it. Surely she was taking care of it now, right? Surely her sister would be back soon?

Those were things she told herself over and over, but she was starting to believe them less and less.

There's a knock, but it's not at her door. Someone was lightly knocking on the window pane. Bonnie's blue eyes widened a little as she stood up and climed onto her little bookshelf, carrying the musicbox with her. She could smell something off of the shadow on the other side. A familiar scent that overpowered the smell of blood and... wherever this person has been.

"Who... who are you?" she asked, cracking open  the window a little.

"You...? Oh god there's kids here?" as soon as the woman spoke, Bonnie knew it was an outsider, but the tone of voice she used next assured her that she was friendly, "My name's Evelyn. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I've just been trying to check up on people."

"I... I don't know your voice, but I know that smell. Are you a hunter?" Bonnie opened the window a little more to see the woman. She wasn't phased by the fact she was a bloody mess. Her father ame home looking like that far too often for her to feel bothered by it. She was holding clothes in her arms, probably planning to change into them when she had a moment. 

"Yeah, I'm a hunter. Like I said, I promise I'm not gonna hurt you. I know people aren't all that open about strangers, I get that." Evelyn nodded to her.

"Then... will you please look for my mum and my sister?" Bonnie leaned a little foward and grabbed the bar over the window, letting Evelyn see her a bit better. She was a small girl with light blonde curls and a ribbon in her hair. Evelyn felt her heart aching for this poor child. She didn't deserve to be in this mess. Children deserved a happy life, not be subjected to this, "Daddy never came back from the Hunt, and she went to find him, and then my sister left and..." She watched as the little girl started to get choked up, feeling her heart twist a little more, "I'm... I'm all alone, and scared."

Evelyn took a step closer, "I see. I know, it's scary all by yourself. You're doing great by staying inside. It's not safe out here. What's your name sweetie?"

"Bonnie." the little girl responded, her eyes trained on Evelyn, still hopeful, "Will you look for them, Miss Hunter?"

Evelyn chewed her lower lip a little. In all honesty, there was a very slim chance any of them were alive if they were out here. So far none of the residents were keen on letting strays in, even though they were doomed on the streets. A hunter not returning doesn't bode well, and not to mention if the mother and sister couldn't defend themselves...

But... she didn't have the heart to say no, "I can't make any promises Bonnie, but I will keep an eye out for them, ok?"

"R-Really?!" Bonnie lit right up hearing that answer, "Thank you miss Hunter! My mum wears a red jeweled brooch. It's so big and beautiful, you can't miss it, and Irene is wearing a white church dress. Oh! And I mustn't forget." Bonnie picked up the music box from beside her and handed it through the bars to Evelyn's hand. "If you find my mum, please give her this music box. It plays one of daddy’s favourite songs! And when daddy forgets us, we play it, so he remembers."

She nodded, "Ok, I will. But you need to promise me something Bonnie."

The little girl tilted her head in confusion, "What's that?"

Evelyn gently leaned forward a bit, "You need to stay in there, no matter what, ok? I'll be back to check up on you a bit later, so it won't be quite as lonely, but you need to stay here where it's safe. Can you do that for me?"

Bonnie nodded, "Ok, I can stay here. Mum and Irene told me that too."

"Yeah, they told you that to keep you safe. I'll do my best to bring them home. Now," Evelyn gave her a small smile, "Close the window and go play with something ok? I know it's hard, but the time will pass faster if you do. Maybe play pretend? Something like how you're a princess in a great kingdom?"

The little girl smiled a little, "Are you my knight Miss Hunter?"

"You can call me Evelyn, and sure, I'll be your knight. When I come back, I'll let you know what's going on, and when the night's over, we'll have adventures."

"You're like a messenger. Ok, I can do that." Bonnie nodded and reached over to close the shutter.

"You're being guarded by a great dragon right now, but he knows I'm friendly, and will let me talk to you."

"I like that Miss Evelyn." Bonnie smiled a little more, "Ok, I'll see you soon, right?"

"As soon as I can."

Bonnie then shut the windows and Evelyn let out a quiet sigh, opening up the next gate and walking back to a lamp to rid herself of her old clothes and put on something far more fitting.


	5. Yesterday Was Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn meets Eileen and learns more about Bonnie's family. Unfortunately, they do find them.

The sewers were a less than ideal place to be, but she did find attire far more fitting for a hunter down there. She took the first ladder out of that place and found herself next to the little girl's house she now knew as Bonnie. She always had a soft spot for kids, changing her demeanour to be far more gentle around them. She supposed that yes, there would be children here, but she hoped that they would just be sleeping through it, not waiting all alone for parents who may never show...

Donning the Hunter's Attire now with her hair and face cover securely in place, she walked back to the front of the house towards the Doll. Her face seemed to light up a little and she clapped her hands together in approval of Evelyn's new outfit. Her long coat hid leather armor beneath it and now held all of her blood vials while still having room for more. Her black hair was now hidden beneath a tricorn hat with frayed ends that looked similar to feathers. Her boots were tougher, her gloves protected her hands from blisters and the gaunlets offered a litte protection. The strap on the back could now hold her axe if need be and perhaps another weapon if she found one she liked.

"It's very fitting for you." the Doll smiled at her. "You look like a real hunter now."

"Thanks." Evelyn lowered the cover over her mouth to reveal a smile, "If I look the part maybe I'll be a better one."

"I'm not sure if that's how it works, but it should protect you from the beasts better."

Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, "Worth a try."

"Ah... you were being humorous, weren't you? I think this is a good thing. Hunters with humor seem to last better."

The Doll when noticed the strangest expression coming over Evelyn's face. She was still smiling, but it was strained. There was something in those eyes, remembering something she rather forget before seemingly managing to shove it back into her mind, "Well... I can see that, I guess."

"Evelyn...?" She took a step towards her and tilted her head, "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me." Evelyn pulled the face cover up and over her nose, "I'll be just fine. I'm not gonna lose it on you Mary."

She already felt like she spent too much time in this Dream. That little girl was waiting on her, and she needed to help her. Even if she only found bodies, she needed to at least find someone who will care for her. She was a horrible choice, considering the dangers she would surely throw herself into, so she hoped that if what she feared was true she could at least find someone for that girl.

* * * *

Maria had been on a spree in the last while. Something about killing beasts was addicting, as much as she hated to admit it. It made her feel somewhat alive again in this dying town. Each sliced limb or head was one less beast to worry about. She knew her way around the city far better than the outsider, and easily found her own shortcuts to the only other bridge that crossed into the heart of Yharnam. It was easy to dispatch the madmen and ogre who attempted to use a flaming ball of debris to kill her, clearing the bridge for now. Even though she did this, she knew beasts would eventually wander back up here. All she needed to do was make her rounds, then it by bit, she would cleanse these streets. 

She could hear the laughing and howling in the houses however, just the same as Evelyn did. Sure that was nothing new, but there didn't used to be so many. Walking into a main street she noticed that the handiwork left here wasn't hers. The madmen head had their heads chopped off, deep gashes with broken bone. No, surely this was Evelyn's work, and as she looked around she could see lids of coffins sitting oddly, signs of dying bushes being disturbed, almost like she was looking for something. Odd, what would she have to search for?

She came to house that was on the edge of a ladder going down to a lower level of Yharnam. All the way here there were more signs of things being searched through before giving up and moving on. The coffins blocking a hole in the fence that would lead to a lower level near by had also been moved, giving a decent indicator as to where the Hunter went. The house she was at now was very quiet, but still had its lantern of incense burning. She would've ignored it and passed it as with all the other doors, but a voice stopped her from doing so.

"Miss Evelyn? Is that you?"

Maria turned towards the window with a scowl, "No, I'm not Evelyn. My name is Maria."

"Oh... I'm sorry. I was hoping you were her. She's looking for my family right now."

Maria folded her arms, "Did this Evelyn happen to be an outsider, and a Hunter?"

"Yes! She is! Have you seen her? Has she found Mum and Dad and Irene?" The girl behind the window sounded so hopeful. Maria could understand desperation, hoping someone would search for what was lost, but Maria knew better. Outsiders were liars, trying to take advantage of people. This poor girl was getting her hopes up because a outsider said they would search. If she was being honest, her parents and sister were probably dead by now. Yet Evelyn told her she would try to find them.

No, she wouldn't find them. She would come back later, saying they died. She would take this girl out and probably kill her too...

All baseless assumptions, none of which made any sense. She saw things being searched all the way here and evidence suggesting it was Evelyn, but that's how Yharnam worked, and that's how Maria, despite her mother's best efforts, was taught. Outsiders were not to be trusted, and the sooner the night ended, the sooner she could rid the world of this one.

"She's not coming back, you know that right?" Maria hissed. The girl made a small sound of hurt, but she continued anyways, "You know you can't trust outsiders. They're liars and theives. If anything when she finds them, she'll kill them!"

"N-No! S-She wouldn't!" The girl started to protest, clearly getting worked up and upset, "She was so nice! She said she couldn't make any promises but she would try to bring them home!"

"And you believed her?" Maria growled, "Listen kid, outsiders are scum. If you really want to find your family, you're better off looking for them yourself. Grab a knife incase a madman comes for you, stab him where it hurts the most. You let me take care of that outsider."

"B-But...!"

"Well? What are you waiting for? I'm not going to look for them, I need to find my target, but if you're that worried, the streets have been cleared out for now. Now is your only chance to start looking."

With that, Maria left in a huff, not knowing she was about to be the indirect cause of the girl's fate.

* * * *

Yharnam was a maze at best. Evelyn felt like she was going in circles more than anything else. She didn't go back to the little girl's house right away, which might have been the smarter option since she could've easily found it from a lamp. No matter the case, she was opening up locked gates and doors, finding more shortcuts to get through this place easier. All the while her Axe cut through madmen and beasts alike without any hint of mercy. There was none to be had for mindless creatures. She didn't have any for murderers and evil people back in her hometown, why would she have any for them?

Up on the rafters of this building she looked down to see 3 beasts and 1 madman with a gun. From here she had a vantage point, sure, but the drop seemed a little too much for her liking. The last thing she needed was to shatter her bones because of something stupid like this. At least in this new uniform she was invisible in the shadows, with her skin and eyes being the most noticeable clothing item on her. Debating for a moment longer, she decided to stand up and go back the way she came and try to get the jump on them when she got there. Before she could however, she noticed a hole in the wall that was blocked by barrels and the like. Curious, she climbed over the crates and barrels and found a lone figure overlooking a lower street. Her mask reminded Evelyn of the plague doctors she read in stories. Her coat was lined with dark feathers, blending in well with the night. As Evelyn got closer, the woman turned towards her, catching a wiff of incense.

"Oh... a Hunter are you? And an outsider?" she asked.

Evelyn raised her arms outwards in a grand but clearly joking nature, "The one and only, most hated in all of Yharnam apparently."

The older woman laughed a little, "Well, good to see you're taking it in stride. What a mess you've been caught up in, and tonight of all nights..."

"I'll take it as this isn't normal around here then?" Evelyn asked as she walked up to be next to her.

"Hunts are normal, but this one is proving to be long, which means there's a dreaming Hunter." Evelyn noted how she said the hunter word oddly, but couldn't say anything as the woman turned to look directly at her with folded arms, "And I get the feeling it's you."

"You know about the Hunter's Dream then?" Evelyn seemed to light right up.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I do not remember too much." the woman folded her arms, "When I was released from the Dream, it took some memories with it. I remember the sweet Doll there... and there was an old man..."

"Gehrman. I also named the doll Mary."

"Ah, yes, that was his name. And Mary sounds very fitting for that Doll. Ah, but that's getting off track. Just know that once you've found the nightmare, you'll be free to go. I no longer dream, but of course, I now only have one life left."

Evelyn nodded, "Thanks for that. Makes me feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one. Say, what's your name?"

"Eileen." She then dug into her pockets and pulled out a small pouch, "Here, to welcome the new Hunter....?"

"Evelyn, and thanks." She took the pouch and stuffed it into her coat pocket.

"You should prepare yourself for the worst. There are no humans left on these streets. They're all flesh hungry beasts now.

"I caught that part." Evelyn sighed, "I've seen nothing but madmen and beasts. The only decent person I've found inside is that poor kid."

"Hm?" That seemed to have caught Eileen's interest. "There aren't many kids in Yharnam. What was her name?"

"Bonnie. She was in a home, all by herself."

Eileen's posture  slowly dropped hearing that. Evelyn couldn't see her face, but had a feeling it was panic that was coming over it.

"Did... did she say who...?"

"She said her dad went on a hunt and never came back, then her mother ran off to find him. Said she had a red jeweled brooch. Then her sister ran off too. I've been looking all over but I haven't found them yet." 

"I haven't... I haven't seen Gascoigne at all, come to think of it."

"That's her dad's name? You guys friends?"

"Yes, I know the family well but..." Eileen shook her head, "What was Viola thinking?! And Irene too?!" The woman straightened up and reached for her blade on her hilt, "Where have you looked?"

"I think I turned all of the west side of Yharnam upside down, which leaves the East side, the Cathedral Ward." Evelyn straightened herself out, "Course the big bridge is locked, so gotta find another way."

As soon as Evelyn finished her sentence there was a sound. Both women turned towards a pile of coffins in the corner. Slowly, Evelyn took the lead as they came closer to them. She looked back at Eileen, nodded, and opened up the first one. She was half expecting a beast to jump out at her, but instead there was a little girl.  Her light blonde hair was in a bob, and she wore a white gown. The style of it made Evelyn think it was some sort of holy attire. Didn't Bonnie say her sister was in a Church Dress...?

"Irene!" Eileen shouted as she got closer, "What in Oedon's name do you think you're doing?!"

The small girl didn't say anything, just looked down at herself. Evelyn shoved the lid aside and offered a hand to her to get out. The girl looked at her for a moment, deciding whether or not she was trustworthy, before shyly taking her hand and  letting Evelyn help her out of her hiding place.

"How long have you been in there?" Eileen asked.

Irene thought for a moment, but shrugged in response, "I don't know. I heard the beasts downstairs and I hid in here. I heard muffles in the coffin but I thought I heard you talking Auntie so I peeked..."

The old woman let out a sigh, "You should've stayed home. If you hadn't have peeked we may never have found you."

Evelyn could quickly figure out the kind of relationship between Eileen and the family. She probably came over enough that she might as well have been family to them. Perhaps there were others in that position still aie or sane. If all else failed, maybe they could take care of the girls.

Irene looked up at Evelyn, briging her hands up to her chest as she shyly asked, "Who are you?"

"Evelyn, your sister asked me to find you." Evelyn kneeled down to Irene's height, "She's really worried about you. So why don't we go back to the house so she isn't by herself? Eileen and I can look for your mum and dad."

Irene bit down on her lower lip. Perhaps the girl knew her actions had been brash, but she had been so worried about her family she decided to leave ayways and ended up stuck here. The reminder of her sister however seemed to have caused her to rethink her situation. She then looked nodded to the two of them, clearly stating she wanted to go back to see her little sister.

"Alright." Evelyn stood up, "Eileen, would you mind leading the way? I know I'm going to get us lost."

"Hah, even the locals can get turned around. Don't worry, I know the easiest way to that house."

Eileen offered a hand to Irene who eagerly took it. Evelyn followed behind them, watching their backs as they carefully walked on the rafters and back through the window they all originally came from. Evelyn had already dealt with the hounds, so it was easy walking back to the house. The lamp was still burning, so Evelyn had no reason to believe that anything was wrong when she knocked on the window again.

"Bonnie? It's me, Evelyn. I found your sister."

No response came from inside the house. Evelyn frowned and tried again.

"Bonnie? Irene's here."

"Bo, it's me!" Irene called out, but still no response. Irene quickly ran for the doorway on the side of the house to find it unlocked. Without even opening the door, the adults knew exactly what had happened. All the same, they still held a faint hope that the child would just be asleep inside, but as Irene threw open the door, their hopes were dashed. As they clamoured inside they found the place to be abandoned, the books on the floor near the window left unread. Seeing no one on the first floor, Irene ran up the stairs, shouting her sister's name, hoping that she had decided to sleep instead of run off. Dust had started to collect on the kitchen table, but when Evelyn walked over to the books, there wasn't a trace of dust on them. The girl had been huddled up here in this corner...

"One of the knives are missing." Eileen spoke up from another room. Evelyn looked over to see her in the kitchen, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Fuck...!" Evelyn hissed, "She was just fine in here! I told her not to leave! Why did she run off?!"

Her mind was racing. Was there any hint as to how long ago Bonnie was here? How far could she have ran off? Where in this city could she have gone?

"Doesn't matter! We need to find her and fast! She's only 7! She has even less of a chance of staying alive than Viola!" Eileen rushed out of the kitchen and looked up to the stairs as Irene came down, her skin paling into a ghostly white.  She looked absolutely horrified knowing what her little sister could be facing out there.

"She's not here." She breathed out. Evelyn clenched her fist as she looked around. 

Evelyn clenched her fists, "Damn it..." She then looked up to Irene, "Where do you think she would've gone? Where's a place your family goes all the time?"

"W-Well..." Irene stuttered for a moment before thinking of an answer, "We visit Oedon Chapel a lot, but we go through the Graveyard way..."

"That's across the other bridge which can be found through the Aquaducts or going around to an elevator, but the beasts...!" Eileen started to say, but that was all in the instruction Evelyn needed. She pointed at Irene when she spoke next.

"Stay here and don't you dare try to follow me. I'll be back."

Evelyn rushed out, ignoring Irene shouting at her to wait. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, down the ladders, into the Aquaducts, leaping through crows and those strange zombie men trying to grab her leg. She jumped up onto another ladder to climb up to a place that was... strangely empty. She could see bodies on the ground, but they weren't there because of her. Someone else must've gone through. Perhaps Maria...?

She then noticed something on the ground on the stairs leading up to a bridge. It was a white ribbon, far more suited for little girls than for madmen. She picked it up and sprinted across as fast as she could, thankful she found the ribbon for a clue, but also fearing the worst. She was afraid to call out to the girl in fear it would attract more beasts. She turned to the left, up more stairs and... 

Time seemed to slow down for a moment. The first thing she heard was Bonnie scream. She came to the top of the stairs where her mind vaguely clicked that she was in graveyard now. It was far more focused on the little girl on the ground with her back against a tombstone, raising her hands up over her head to try and shield her tiny form. The next thing she noticed was a large man with an axe not unlike her own staggering towards her. He was covered in blood, his axe dragging on the ground as he spoke something about her being 'one of them' sooner or later.

It was then her brain clicked that Bonnie had screamed a word: Daddy.

_It plays one of daddy’s favourite songs! And when daddy forgets us, we play it, so he remembers._

She didn't think her hand could move so quickly to her pocket and take out the music box, but it did. She nearly fumbled and dropped it as she wound it up, but soon she had the lid open and the haunting melody floated through the air. The man stopped, the man Evelyn could only assume was Gascoigne, and seemed to flinch and cower beneath the sound...

"Easy there... easy..." Evelyn gently spoke to try and avoid any more aggravation. Bonnie quickly scrambled to her feet and ran to Evelyn's side, to relative safety, and hid behind the hunter. Evelyn started to slowly back away, feeling the little girl behind her. She could then hear footsteps. Had she been followed here? There were two sets, so perhaps the stubborn older sister had tried to follow, and Eileen was trying to catch her. 

Gascoigne suddenly overcame the sound and looked directly at Evelyn. With a roar he picked up his axe and ran straight at the Hunter. Evelyn clenched her jaw as she pushed Bonnie away from the blow before rolling away from the man, barely dodging his axe slamming down.

"Run! Run!" Evelyn shouted at Bonnie. When the Hunter looked up she could see Irene standing there with Eileen just starting to catch up. The elder sister waved her younger one over and Bonnie made a dash for safety, leaving only Evelyn to deal with the problem at hand. She whirled around just in time to see the large man coming down on her again, this time with an extended axe and she rolled out of the way, ignoring the bickering where the girls were in favour of keeping herself alive.

"Bo! Bo what were you thinking?!" Irene shouted when the smaller girl clung onto her older sister.

"What were you BOTH thinking?!" Eileen scolded them as she grabbed both girls and tried to get them back away from the fight, but they were being stubborn and pulling away from Eileen together, both wanting to see if their father could be saved.

"I wanted to find them! But daddy! She played the music box, why won't he remember?!" Bonnie wailed.

"You're father's drunk with blood! He was falling apart, and now he's gone! There's nothing we can do!" Eileen knew her voice of reason would fall on deaf ears, but she tried to explain it all the same.

"They're going to kill each other!"

Everyone then stopped and looked over as the music box was playing again. Gascoigne had stopped once more, holding his hands over his ears as the song played.

"Come on big guy." Evelyn's voice was still gentle as she could muster, holding up the music box in her hand and slowly approaching him. Everyone held their breath as they watched, "Listen... Bonnie and Irene are waiting for you. Your daughters, remember? They're worried about you..."

The man made some whimpers before letting out a screech. Before Evelyn could react, he smashed her body with the side of his axe, sending the music box flying through the air as she tumbled to the ground. The music box landed only a short distance away from the girls. Evelyn rolled to her feet, reaching back for her weapon, not wanting to hurt the man, but she needed something  to defend herself considering this was going very wrong, very fast. Eileen was capable, she was sure, but also having to shield 2 very stubborn little girls while fighting the giant of a man? No, she needed to stay alive for this one.

"Aaaah, what's the smell...?" Gascoigne suddenly spoke up as he raised the Axe up again. His next attack was stronger than Evelyn anticipated and she feld herself being pushed back when she blocked it. "The sweet blood... oh it sings to me! Enough to make a man sick...!"

He then started to howl in laughter as Evelyn rolled out of the way of more blows. Throughout the entire ordeal, she had to now really notice her surroundings as the graves were clumped with no sense of organization whatsoever. While she could trip and get stuck on them, Gascoigne would just smash right through. As she was going around a large tree in the middle, there were also bodies she had to step over. He had clearly been busy here, chopping them up, but while they looked like madmen, she caught a glimpse of something Red...

_My mum wears a red jeweled brooch. It's so big and beautiful, you can't miss it._

"N...no way..." Evelyn got caught up looking at it, but could only see that the body was indeed that of a woman before being shot by a blunderbuss. She staggered back, her leather armor providing some protection, but it stung all the same and made her focus back on the task at hand. She clenched her jaw and rolled out of the way or another attack.

If this was any other man, she would've just sunk her axe into his skull and put him out of his misery, but this was Bonnie's and Irene's father. They were only a short distance away, most likely watching this go down. Their mom was gone now, most likely killed by the madmen or even Gascoigne himself. She knew what kind of madness could stem from that. Here in this place where disease seemed to rot a person's sense first and their bodies next, there was plenty of evidence to suggest he had it. Looking at how long his arms were now, and some of the hair on his face, it would suggest progression of the illness.

The song rang through a 3rd time. Gascoigne stopped again. Evelyn looked over to see Bonnie holding the music box, having tore away from her sister and Eileen to get it. It was a vain hope, it truly was, as the girl stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks hoping that maybe, just maybe, a third time would do it. Maybe in her hands the music would have a power that an outsider didn't have...

Instead of running right back at Evelyn however, he let out a gutteral screech as a force unknown to Evelyn knocked her back into the tombstones. She could hear Bonnie and Irene screaming, and when she looked up, she could understand why. Their father had, somehow in a matter of seconds, transformed fully into a beast. His new hands had  shredded his gloves ad Evelyn barely had enough time to roll out of the way of quick swipes that would've surely tore her apart with those long claws. His face resembled more of a dog with bandages over his eyes as his hat had fallen off somewhere. Instead of long hair, it looked more ike a mane stretching down his neck and back.

"You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Evelyn bellowed as she rolled out of the way of more swipes and a lunge. Unfortunately, no one was kidding her, and there was only one way out of her situation as much as she didn't want to do it. 

She took one last glance over to the girls as if to get some sort of clue as to what she should do. Eileen was pulling back a struggling Bonnie back as best as she could who kicked and pulled and made it far more difficult. Bonnie was screaming and sobbing, and vaguely she could hear her beg Eileen to make it all stop. Irene stood behind them, his hands covering her face, trembling and most likely shedding tears of her own. Somewhere in the mess she could hear Bonnie's tune change, and instead asking for her father to stop... to leave 'Miss Hunter' alone...

There really was no choice if everyone were to stay alive. Even if the girls hated her for doing this, she had to at least do something to keep them alive.

She extended the length of the Axe and finally fought back. She slammed it into the beast's shoulder, drawing some blood finally, but he responded with an uppcut that knocked her off of her feet. She could feel where the claws had pierced the armor into her skin and how it stung, but she ignored that in favour of rolling out of the way as he slammed down with both hands. Back on her feet she swung the axe across and made a gash across his side that staggered him for a moment which allowed her another swing, but this would prove to be a mistake. As he lunged forward at her, she couldn't get out of the way of his hand as it slashed into her lower left leg. She let out a cry of pain as she hit the ground. As he raised both hands to slam down on her body, she reached to her belt and fired off her pistol. Thankfully it had the effect of staggering him like she wanted, and not just for a mere few seconds. He let out a howl as he stumbled to kneel in front of her, his head close enough to strike fro where she was sitting. She dropped the pistol and quickly shortened the axe to slam it down on his skull. There was a horrible cracking sound as he tried to let out a primal scream before the axe found its place well inside his brain.

There was a moment of silence that dragged on forever, before the beast collapsed in front of Evelyn. The Hunter found herself panting as she realized he was dead, and the pain he was able to ignore before starting to throb, especially in her leg. She could hear the girls crying, but she expected that. She rather hear that right now than the sound of them dying, whatever that sound might be. She reached into her coat and jammed another bloodvial into her thigh. Already she could feel some of her wounds sealing up as she forced herself to stand. The more minor scuffs were dealt with quickly, but when she stood she could feel an ache in her lower leg that thudded and got worse when she pulled the axe out of the skull. She looked over to Eileen, who had both girls in her arms as they cried into her coat. She wasn't sure really what to say. How could she make any of what happened better?

Picking up her pistol and hanging it back on her belt, she slowly limped over to where they were. She was surely covered in blood, the blood of their father, but she felt like she do something, say something. She still kept a decent distance away though as she hung her axe on the strap on her back.

"I'm... I'm sorry." That was the only thing she could think to say. The two girls looked up as Evelyn as she took her hat off and lowered the covering over her face. 

"Is... is he dead...?" Irene managed to ask. Evelyn nodded in response.

"And... mum...?" Bonnie looked up at her with a faint hope in her eyes, "Is mum...?"

The way Evelyn's face turned even more downtrodden was answer enough, but Bonnie would need proof. The Hunter limped towards the other side of the graveyard where the pile of bodies was. Eileen now finally stepped foot into the graveyard, holding the two girls close and trying to turn tham away from the corpse of the beast they once called their father. They watched as Evelyn bent over and carefully seperated the brooch from the rest of the woman's clothing. Irene felt her whole world drop as did Bonnie's seeing that brooch in Evelyn's hand.

"...this was hers, wasn't it...?"

Eileen answered, for the two girls were clearly unable to in that moment, "Yes... that is Viola's..."

Irene reached out without another word and took the brooch out of Evelyn's hand. The girl then seemed to sink down to the ground as the weight of losing both parents seemed to overcome her. Bonnie got down on her knees beside her sister and stared at the brooch with wide eyes, unsure whether or not the world was decieving her. Surely this couldn't be the same one, right...?

"Mummy..." Bonnie whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes, "Mum...? Mum why did you...?"

"He's not hurting anymore. Neither of them are." Eileen spoke up as Bonnie's cries threatened to get louder. She looked up at Evelyn, "We can't stay here. The beasts will come."

Evelyn wearily looked to the chapel, "I don't think taking them home is a good idea. The beasts are probably back by now. Do you think it's safe there?"

"There's only one way to find out."

It was then Bonnie started to wail loudly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and understandably so. Honestly, with all of the commotion, Evelyn was shocked that no other beasts had come to them yet. Still, she had to calm her down, at least long enough to get to safety before the beasts really did decide to show up. Running out of ideas, Evelyn knelt down in front of both girls, placing her hat over her chest.

"Bonnie, Irene, listen to me." Irene moved her head only slightly, but her gaze did flick up to Evelyn. Bonnie did look at her through bleary eyes as she spoke. "We need to get somewhere safe. Your mum and dad would want you to be safe, so you need to work with Eileen and I for a bit longer ok? When we get to safety, then you can rest and... mourn. But that means we need to be quiet, ok?"

Evelyn then gently offered her free hand to them. Bonnie stared at her for a moment. The hunter who she entrusted to find her parents and her sister. She was told outsiders qere liars and theives, but this one? This one must be different. This one saved her. This one brought Auntie Eileen and her sister. This one tried everything she could to save their dad at least. She seemed awfully sorry she had to do it, and she was honest when she asked about the fate of her mother. Irene hardly needed to think on that decision. The older girl took her hand, and Bonnie shortly followed. Evelyn managed a warm smile for them as she stood up, Irene coming to her feet and Bonnie trying to quiet her crying.

"Atta girl." Evelyn softly told them, "Let's go with auntie Eileen to Oedon Chapel."


	6. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls are safe, and they begin to bond a little with The Hunter

The Chapel's incense was overwhelming as they climbed up the the ladder into the bottom level of the chapel. Already this place had promise over the girl's home with its meekly lantern serving as the only protection from the beasts. It was easy t see how well uilt this plae was, and if the incense could be smelled from the bottom of the ladder, there had to be plenty. As they came up the stairs Evelyn pushed open the double doors, ignoring the throbbing in her leg, and opened the way into the Chapel. The walls were lined with pots of burning incense, the ceiling large as it towered over them. As Evelyn walked inside with everyone following her, she could see this place could hold quite a few people. It would be the perfect sort of safehub, and even better, she could see a Lamp in here which made it easily accessable to her. It was perfect.

"Someone's taken great care to ward this place." Eileen commented.

"W-Well..." someone spoke up. The girls all whirled their heads towards the source that sat on his knees in the corner. A man wearing red robes and a hood now spoke to them. He was shyly clasping his hands together as he spoke, clearly nervous. "It uh... took a while, but that was the idea."

"Who are you?" Evelyn tilted her head in confusion. The two girls seemed to recognize him, which gave Eveln some comfort.

"Oh! You're the Chapel Dweller that helps the Minister." Bonnie took a step towards him, "I'm glad you're ok."

"Ah, you're one of the little ones. But if you're here with... oh dear..." The mood suddenly sullied as the Dweller made a realization of what must've happened, though he didn't know the severity of it. He the turned his attention to Evelyn and Eileen, or tried to at least. He was looking past them, but speaking to them, "And you two are Hunters... right?"

"She's a Hunter." Eileen motioned to Evelyn, "I hunt the mad ones."

"A-Ah, I see. Well uh, either way, since you'll surely be going out there again, can I ask a favour?"

"A Favour?" Evelyn asked as she folded her arms over her chest, "What kind?"

"Well, you see... this is a bad hunt, isn't it? I've been hearing things outside. It's not just the beasts, the people inside are going bad too. But, if you spot anyone with their wits about them, you should tell them about this here Chapel. They'll be safer here. I can look after these two girls as well, so you don't have to worry about them."

"We're staying here?" Bonnie asked as she looked up at Eileen and Evelyn.

"It's not a bad option." Evelyn commented as she looked around, "This incense is a lot more likely to outlast the night."

"Are you staying too...?"

Both women looked at each other for a moment before Eileen decided to answer, "For a rest... then we need to get back to work, sadly. This night won't end if we don't."

Bonnie seemed upset that they would be left all alone again. Irene ever so quietly walked over to her younger sister and wrapped her up in a hug. She didn't say anything, but the words 'I'm here' seemed to ring lound and clear. Evelyn limped over to the a corner and sat down on the floor, lighting her lamp along the way. Her leg seemed grateful for the lack of pressure on it and she heaved a sigh, feeling another wave of exhaustion come over her. She watched the girls gather around Eileen as she sat down as well, taking some comfort in a familiar presence. Evelyn managed a small smile at the sight and closed her eyes, drifting off into a light sleep.

* * * *

Maria did this.

From higher ground she had witnessed the fight in the Graveyard. She had circled back on herself when she saw her target running like a madwoman towards the chapel. Climbing to the top of one of the buildings nearby, she heard the little girl scream, and when she came to the top, it didn't take much to understand what happened.

For a moment the woman had been stunned upon realization that the girl actually had gone out after her thoughtless words. She shouldn't be surprised, but she is. This was one of the only time she's seen the consequences of her thoughtless words and actions. Other Yharnamites might scoff and say something like 'stupid girl had it coming if she actually listened' but not Maria. Maria did have a caring bone in her body, and right now it was screaming at her that she made an awful mistake. That girl had been so close to getting murdered by her own blood drunk father...

Her first thought of course was 'it's not my fault.' Every person in Yharnam thought that, or at least, the good majority. It's not my fault people were careless and got stuck outside. It's not my fault that people are turning. It's not my fault an impressionable little girl went out to find her family in the middle of a hunt because I said so.

But her mother's voice said _no_. It was her fault. She had spoken out of turn and caused this. This little girl would not have been in the line of fire if she had kept her mouth shut. If she had instead helped or at the very least not told her to look, then this wouldn't have happened. Not to mention Evelyn of all people had saved her. Evelyn had done her damnest to save the person who had gone mad. Evelyn put him out of his misery and took the girls into that Chapel along with the Hunter of Hunters. The outsider had fixed her mistake, and had even been kind to the girls. This was either the best con she had ever seen, or she was wrong...

No, no she couldn't be wrong. She had to be right. Outsiders were evil, outsiders were not to be trusted. If she was wrong then how many innocent lives had she taken? How many had she been a part of taking? She lost count a while ago of how many people she had killed, trying to push it all back as best as she could. Why had she done that over the years? Was it because deep down she knew all along she was in the wrong? Was it because her mother would've been ashamed of her if she knew?

No, no, nonononono that's wrong. This had to be a long con game for the outsider. She would betray everyone, which meant that Maria was right. She had to be right. She bore no guilt, nonononono....

A soft crying breaks her train of thought. The entire time she had buried her face in her hands, and when she looked back over the graveyard she could see a man kneeling over the corpse of the former hunter Gascoigne. The man was dressed in yellows and browns, his tricorn hat had a trail of feathers sticking out of it. Maria had seen him around, usually with the taller man that had just turned. It was easy to forget that the beasts were once people too, with loved ones who mourn them changing. The crying sounded... broken in a way Maria couldn't quite grasp.

She felt so tired, and slightly lightheaded. The guilt was still clawing at her insides like a beast, but she decided to climb down from the roof. Maybe if she went home for a while the feeling might stop. She also didn't want to listen to the sobbing of that man that added to the weight starting to press down on her.

* * * *

"Does it hurt much?"

Evelyn stirred a little and opened her eyes when Bonnie asked that question. She wasn't sure for how long she had been asleep, but Eileen was gone. Bonnie was standing in front of her now and she could see Irene drawing in the corner looking up at them every so often.

"Mmm? Does what hurt?" Evelyn asked as she rubbed at her eyes.

"Your leg. It looked hurt." Bonnie pointed to her left leg where the material had been shredded through, and right on cue she could feel it throbbing again. Evelyn smiled past it though, not wanting to worry the girl.

"Don't worry about me. I can fix it later." Her smile faded though in favour of asking, "Are you ok?"

Bonnie didn't answer. Physically she was fine, but of course she wasn't emotionally. She had cried her eyes out earlier, but now couldn't shed a tear over this heavy sadness she had found. She felt heavy now, tired...

Evelyn took her silence as an answer, "You like books, right?" 

Bonnie seemed a bit surprised, but she did nod, "I love reading. Do you like reading too Miss Evelyn?"

She nodded, "Used to read all the time when I was growing up, still do when I get the time. Why don't we get some books from downstairs. I'll help you with the hard words for a bit before I have to go."

Bonnie managed to smile a little hearing that, but as Evelyn started to try and get up, she ran over and put her hands on the Hunter's shoulders and tried to push her back down.

"No! No you rest! I'll get the books!"

Evelyn seemed surprised, but she sat back down. Satisfied, the girl ran down the stairs. Evelyn hoped she wouldn't hear the sound of books toppling over down there, but much to her relief the girl did come back with some in her arms. The slimmer ones seemed more for children who were spending the day in the chapel, but the bigger one she recognized was Alice in Wonderland. It had been a favourite of hers when she was younger. A girl gone to meet strange and outlandish things. She supposed she was in a similar situation now, but instead everything was trying to kill her, not just a wicked Queen.

Bonnie put the books down on the floor and then sat beside Evelyn. She grabbed the Alice book and showed it to her, "Have you read this before?"

"I have. It's very good, but it can be hard to read." she took the book gently out of her hand.

"What's it about?"

"It's about a little girl like you falling down a rabbit hole into a strange and outlandish place filled with wonders. They call it Wonderland, a place governed by madness and magic."

"Magic?" Bonnie's eyes widened a little hearing the word. Evelyn couldn't help but smile at her, seeing that same childish excitement over magic.

"Yes, magic, and magic is very real, so perhaps even this Wonderland could be real."

"Magic isn't real." Irene spoke up, "The church says there's no such thing as magic."

"Well the Church doesn't know about my magic then." The Hunter grinned ear to ear. Irene looked up with a puzzled expression and Bonnie seemed to get even more excited.

"You can use magic?!" Bonnie jumped to her feet.

"Only a little. I don't have a lot of power yet. I can go to a place called 'The Hunter's Dream' though. There's a little doll there named Mary that grants me magic if I help her."

"How can a doll give you magic?" Irene now stood up from her drawings, curious but doubtful.

"I don't know honestly, but she does, and she'll also fix up my leg with her magic, but I need to go to her first."

"I wanna see! I wanna see the magic!" Bonnie jumped up and down in excitement. Evelyn laughed a little as she started to get up, letting out a bit of a groan as she got up after sitting for so long. 

"Ok, I'll show you a bit of magic. Do you see the lamp in the middle of the room?"

"Lamp? What lamp?" Bonnie tilted her head.

"There's no lamp there." Irene confirmed. Evelyn seemed to be confused for a moment before coming to her own conclusion.

"Well, I guess since I'm a Dreaming Hunter, only I can see the lamp." Which was probably for the best, as every time she got near the lamp, the Messengers popped up to say hello. They weren't exactly child friendly.

"Is this also part of your magic?" Bonnie asked. Evelyn gave a small smile.

"I believe it is. Here, let me give a demonstration for you."

She limped over to the lamp and knelt down in front of it. The girls watched in awe as she vanished into wisps of light that seemed to disappear altogether after a while. Irene's jaw dropped while Bonnie jumped up and down.

"Magic! Magic! Magic is real!" she cheered, "I told you magic is real!"

Irene rolled her eyes, "The church is a liar then."

She didn't really know just how right she was. Only a few moments later the wisps of light returned and manifested the Hunter right before their eyes. Bonnie skipped over happily, staring up at the hunter with big eyes.

"That was amazing! And your leg? Does it feel better?" 

"Good as new." Evelyn replied as she lifted it up for them to see, "See, not a scratch in the material now too."

Bonnie seemed to be in awe of this magic. She wanted to ask Evelyn if her magic could be used to bring people back, but she had said she only had a little. To reverse death must be a great amount of magic, and it was doubtful she could do something like that. In time though, maybe the doll would grant her enough magic, if they just waited long enough.

"Alright, I'll help you read the first chapter Bonnie, and then I have to go back out there. The sooner I find the big bad beast, the sooner everything will go back to normal." Evelyn told them with a small smile. Bonnie nodded and skipped over to their corner and plopped herself down, clearly happier to be reading again than to dwell on what happened hours ago. Evelyn sat down beside her and leaned over to see the page she had it open to. With as much confidence as she could, Bonnie began to read aloud to them. Just hearing her sister helped to put Irene more at ease, and when she peered up at the shy but well meaning dweller, he was also listening when earlier he seemed to have zoned out a little.

It was comforting, a tiny piece of normalancy that would become invaluable as the hours wore on for this hunt that felt like an eternity already.


	7. Woman of your Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cathedral Ward is huge. As Evelyn explores she comes across another person with their wits about them, and unfortunately, they're very charming.
> 
> aka Evelyn is a gay disaster

With a new place came more beasts to slaughter, but there was far less madmen than there were these other strange creatures. They had no eyes in their sockets, their mouths were empty, and they all wore white and had silver bells  hanging down. They were awfully tall as well, but rather easy to stagger with a gun and finish off. It still left her wondering about thier existence though. Perhaps this sickness that had taken hold of this town had different strains? Different ways of affecting people? She couldn't be sure. She now was slightly regretting not staying longer at the Chapel ad asking the Dweller for any sort of information, but it was hard to say whether or not he could help. Well, something would surely kick her back to her lamp she supposed. She could ask then.

The streets were more of the same but with slighly less coffins lying around, which wasn't saying much. Up the stairs to a higher level she heard a groan throughout the place, and the ground begin to shake. When she looked up her jaw nearly dropped seeing a giant walking through, dressed in a similar holy garb as Irene was and holding an axe far bigger than her tiny body. It didn't seem to pay her too much attention as he walked by, focused on getting somewhere else, draging chains that had clearly been snapped off of somewhere else.

 _What the fuck...?_ She mouthed those words but didn't dare say them. At least she had an idea on how to take the man down. It was probably similar to the Cleric beast she fought... hours ago? It was hard to tell. Time was blending together already. The setting sun hadn't moved one bit now that she thought about it...

She shook the thought off and quietly slipped through the gate it came from. Slinking about didn't really give any more answers. After dispatching some ogres she could now see where she would've ended up if the great bridge hadn't been locked. From up here she could see where she had came from and how vast this valley really was. For how mad she was then, she was certainly grateful it was now. If that bridge had been opened she may have never met Bonnie and Irene and...

Well, she didn't want to think about what could've happened after that.

Her foot hits something on the ground. She looked down to see a small monocle. Curious, she picked it up and looked through it. She could see Central Yharnam better now, even some of the streets were visible from here. With a smile she pocketed the monocle. It might come in handy later after all. Even if it didn't, it was a handy trinket someone would appeciate. Standing here though overlooking the town though she felt a strange sense of calm. It wasn't the soothing kind however. It was a calm before a storm, before the worst was yet to come...

Sighing, she turned on her heel and went back, seeing as this was a deadend.

Wandering through the narrow streets and alleys, killing Church Doctors on the way, she came to an alley with some lit lanterns and a fog gathering within it. The first door she knocked on, she got the strangest reply.

"Ah yes... bless! Bless t-the church! Bless all of the church! Hah...! Hahaha!"

It sounded nervous, as if he was trying to make her go away with praise, not even knowing who she was. If she wasn't already wary of the church here, she sure was now. She narrowed her eyes a little as she quietly kicked herself for not asking Irene for more information on the church. She had so many more questions now and she doubted anyone from the church was going to answer her honestly, if they were still alive and sane anyways.

She then turned to the end of the street and knocked on another door. When she was answered, there was no madness nor hatred in the woman's voice, which was a relief for Evelyn. Instead the voice was sweet and calm.

"Oh my, what a queer scent! But I'll take it over the stench of beasts any day!"

Evelyn tilted her head as she frowned, "I don't smell that bad, do I?"

There was a giggle, "No, no, you're fine my dear." There was a pause before the woman talked again, sounding quite confused, "What is it then? I'm off during hunts and besides, this is of place for ladies. Wouldn't want to drag you down too."

"Wait, what?" Evelyn looked up above the door to see a sign. PLEASANTRIES AND PLEASURE it read. It took a moment, but it finally clicked that this was a brothel she was knocking on. Her cheeks instantly flared up in heat and turned a bright pink as she started shaking her head and hands right in front of her, even though the woman couldn't see her, "Oh no! Nononono I didn't mean...! Oh god I am so sorry! I wasn't asking for anything like that at all! I was just knocking to see if you're ok!"

"Oh! Um..." the woman seemed unsure of how to answer, "I uh... I appreciate that. That's... very kind of you. What's your name?"

"Evelyn. I'm a hunter." 

"You're a hunter? Oh thank goodness! Might you know of a safe place? This night is going to drag on, I can feel it, and I don't think I'll have enough incense to last through it. Please, there must be some nice place to run off to!"

Evelyn found herself surprised that she was being trusted to even give an answer. Didn't people from Yharnam hate outsiders? Why was this one being so trusting? Then again, considering this woman's position, she had a feeling she was not treated very kindly by others. Sexworkers usually weren't, even in Valismet, and this was a highly religious town that would frown upon things like that for some stupid reason or other. All the ones Evelyn had met that went to Jovian to lay low for a while were geniunely wonderful people who were often down on their luck and needed to sell themselves to make a living. They were few who enjoyed that, considering how unruly many men and women who went to them were. 

How long had it been since this person had anyone be kind to them? Maybe this is why she was trusting an outsider, especially one that showed some decency. Evelyn was far more likely to understand, and less likely to frown upon her. She wouldn't take advantage of her kindness either.

"Yeah, there is one. Oedon Chapel."

"Oh, thank you darling! Maybe I'll see you there?"

"Oh! Uh..." Evelyn nervously glanced about, "I uh, was going to escort you there. The streets are not exactly safe. I mean, not to say you're not capable or anything but uh there's giants walking around and those weird ghost things, but I mean... oh god that came out wrong uh..."

Oh god she was rambling. Her brain was drawing blanks on what was best to say. Usually she had her words together but every now and then when she was talking to a nice woman her mouth and head didn't seem to want to work right. She was perfectly fine around a group of rowdy men, but one nice lady that sounded young and pretty and... 

"Oh...! Wow... I... well um... just let me get my things darling. I really appreciate that." Evelyn then heard the woman walk away, which she was partially grateful for. She let out a groan and lightly hit her forehead on the edge of the doorway, her face burning up in embarassment. This wasn't the first time she got tongue-twisted like that, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. Still, it was rather tempting to shoot herself in the head right now just so she could curl up in the Hunter's Dream and sulk for a while. Instead she straightened up and gave her cheeks a slap as she sternly muttered to herself to get it together.

The door opened up shortly after, and the sight of the other woman made Evelyn very happy her face cover hid her cheeks. She was a little taller than her with blonde loose curls on her shoulders. Her dress made her look far more like a proper noble than a Lady of the Night. Her eyes were tired, but they had a little twinkle in them, and her little smile...

"You're smaller than I was imagining." She commented which made Evelyn's face flush.

"Ah... well... uh..."  Evelyn tried to look for an answer, but was clearly failing. The woman giggled in response.

"You're a strange one, aren't you? That's quite alright, I'm a little strange too."

Evelyn chuckled, but it was nervously at best. She placed her hands behind her back as she looked up a little, "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh!" the woman's cheeks turned a little pink as she closed the door behind her, "My name is Arianna."

Arianna. That was such a nice name for a sweet woman. Evelyn couldn't help but smile hearing it, especially as she had sound so surprised that she asked, "Arianna hm? I like that. Well," Evelyn motioned towards the street, "Shall we?"

Arianna nodded, "Let's." She then watched as the hunter took the weapon off of her back, extended it, and started to walk. Arianna followed close behind, watching their back in case something tried to sneak up on them. She honestly couldn't really believe this was happening. She was following an outsider, a kind one at that, back to Oedon Chapel. They were going the right way towards it as well, and Evelyn was making no indication that she was changing direction. Arianna knew a good person when she saw one, as they were so rare these days, and Evelyn not only met the bar, but leaped right over it clearing a huge amount of distance.

It was a very low bar...

True to her word, Evelyn did lead her to the chapel. Nothing happened along the way, but Arianna felt much safer being led by the Hunter. When they came to the entrance, only then did Evelyn shorten her Axe and placed it on her back for another time. When they walked in, the first thing she noticed was the two children who ran up to the railing on the upper level to see who showed up. They seemed to be in awe of her, most likely mistaking her for a noble woman...

"Well, as you can see this place has incense for days." Evelyn held her arms out before dropping them. "It's about as safe as you can get, anyhow."

Arianna smiled, "I can see that." She looked up to the children and watched as the youngest one seemed to light right up at being noticed. Evelyn looked over at the girls and gave a small laugh.

"You know it's rude to stare, right?" Evelyn lightly teased. Bonnie's cheeks went a light pink when she was called out and Irene seemed startled.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Bonnie bowed a little, "It's just that you're so pretty! You seem like a nice lady too!" 

Irene nodded in agreement. Arianna gave them both a warm smile. 

"Well thank you darling." She curtsied for them, "Perhaps we can get along then. I believe I may be here for a while." 

Bonnie eagerly nodded, "Yeah! Oh!" she stopped as he came to a realization, "You shouldn't sit on the floor! We'll get you a chair from downstairs!"

As the little girl ran off, her older sister shouted after her, "Those aren't like the chairs at home! They're heavy!" before sighing and running after her to help her. Arianna couldn't help but smile at the sight, but it was replaced by a sadness as she realized there were no signs of their parents being her. She highly doubted Evelyn was their mother, which most likely meant that those children were Orphans. They had a hell of a time here in Yharnam, and Arianna was once one herself. Honestly she considered herself one of the lucky ones. Most of them ended up dead. 

She then turned to Evelyn, "How long have they been in here?"

"Not too long... least I don't think." Evelyn sighed as she walked up a short set of stairs to where the girls were standing earlier, "Mind you, time's kinda just been blending together."

Arianna quietly followed her, "I hope they'll be alright. Yharnam's no place for little ones." She stopped and looked at Evelyn, "Ah, where are my manners? Thank you Evelyn for bringing me here."

"Oh!" Evelyn smiled as she took off her hat and lowered her face cover. "You're welcome. No problem."

Arianna couldn't help but smile as she finally was able to see the Hunter's face, "Are all the people from your town as cute as you?"

She nearly burst out laughing as Evelyn's face turned a deep red. The hunter looked around for a moment as sylables that sounded like her trying to form words came out of her mouth. Judging from the blood on her attire, Evelyn certainly had been in a few fights already. It was funny to think that the woman could cut through beasts without trouble, but one compliment from a pretty woman had her a flustered mess.

To be fair, she hadn't had anyone really call her cute or even remotely tried to flirt with her.

Mercy came in the form of the two girls carrying a chair upstairs. The Hunter saw her way out of her situation and jogged over to the girls and took the chair from them.

"Ahh, good job you two! I'll take it from here!"

"Why is your face red?" Bonnie immediately asked. Irene looked over to Arianna who had a hand over her mouth and was very clearly trying not to laugh.

"No reason." Evelyn squeaked out. Irene found herself grinning ear to ear as Arianna started to lose composure and snickers started to come out. She didn't know who this woman was, but she had a feeling she would like her. Bonnie on the other hand was very confused as the Hunter placed down the chair near the railing for Arianna to sit down. 

"And there, one nice chair!" Evelyn made a motion or her to take a seat, her face still a bright red. She may have been smiling, but she wanted nothing more than to curl up in the hunter's dream and sulk in that very moment. God how embarassing.

"Thank you ladies." Arianna managed to say without laughing, but only barely. She curtsied to the two little girls before sitting down on the chair. She then put a hand on her chest and seemed to take a moment to recompose herself, which was just fine by Evelyn, as she neeed a moment to get her thoughts back in order. Satisfied, the two girls curtsied back. Irene waved her little sister over to her corner where already papers with doodles were piling up. Once they were there, Irene whispered something in the little girl's ear, and she seemed to light right up and started to giggle.

"Though um, Evelyn." Arianna spoke up after a moment and caught the hunter's attention, turning it away from the girls, "Seriously, thank you. I'd like to be of some help, but I don't know what to offer."

Evelyn shook her head, "Don't worry about it. You don't owe me anything."

Arianna's eyes widened a little as she sat up a bit straighter, "Are you sure? Surely you..."

"Nope, nothing." Evelyn smiled gently at her as her face finally returned to a normal temperature, "I helped you out because I wanted to, not because I wanted some reward."

Arianna could heardly believe her ears. That sort of kindness was impossible to find in Yharam, especially towards someone like her. She felt a slight bit of heat on her own cheeks hearing her say that. The last time she was treated with not just a basic level of respect, but kind enough to help without expecting anything was...

"But still," Arianna shook the thought off, "I still want to help in any way I can, but all I can offer is my blood. But..." Arianna's gaze fell as an awful feeling overtook her. It was one she could usually shake off, but there all the same, "Would you even take a whore's blood?"

Evelyn doesn't answer for a moment as her smile faded, one that seemed to drag on for eternity. Had she overstepped a line somehow? Arianna was having a difficult time readig the hunter's face, other than she was looking for what to say. Had she somehow insulted her by even offering repentence for what she had done? Would she not want to stoop to taking blood from a prostitute.

"Listen," Evelyn spoke up and grabbed her attention. Much to her surprise, the hunter was kneeling down to be at her eye level, "I don't know you well, but I know you're more than a whore. You're a very kind person, and I really appreciate the offer. I know this place probably hasn't been kind to you, but believe me when I say you're a good woman, and I get it, you know? I get what it's like falling on bad times and having to sell yourself out. I might've ended up like that had things been different. But that's not who you are, ok?"

Arianna nodded, but can't bring herself to reply. She felt something in her chest move. This stranger, in only a matter of an hour or so, had been nothing but kind  to her, and now was insisting she was far more than her profession. She can't remember a time where someone was like this to her. She can't remember when another person told her that she was worth something. She knew she was deserving at the very least some respect as a human being, but this...

"So, I'm not going to take your blood," Evelyn continued, "but it's not because of your profession, it's because it will do a whole lot more good inside your body, keeping you alive. If you really want to help me though, you can help me by helping the girls while I'm gone. I'm also afraid that I'm a fish out of water in this town. I'm so lost as to what is happening here, and if you could shed some light on it, it would help me a lot."

That was certainly something Arianna could do. The woman nodded, "I think I can do both of those things. You might want to sit down for a moment my dear. I'm not sure how long this is going to take to explain."

"If you need explaining from the church, I can help!" Irene piped up from the corner and wandered over. Evelyn smiled as she sat down on the floor crosslegged as Bonnie followed her sister.

"That'd be great, but hm... where to even start?" Evelyn looked around, "I guess I should start off with this place. Who is Oedon?"

"Oedon is one of the Great Ones." Irene sat down beside Evelyn, and Bonnie sat down beside her, creating a little circle, "They say he is formless or has no body, but comes in the form of Miracles. They say the miracle of the blood healing is from him."

Evelyn frowned a little hearing that, but then shrugged it off, "You call your Gods 'Great Ones?'"

"They're interchangable." Arianna explained, "Oedon is a very prominent figure, but I've also heard of Rom, Amnygala, Kos, Mergo, and the so called Nameless Moon Presence. I'm sure there are others, but I never paid too much attention."

"I haven't learned of any others yet, some of those are new to me." Irene nodded. 

"This is all new to me!" Bonnie piped up.

"That's because you don't pay attention in church." Irene side eyed her sister.

"I do so!"

"No you don't."

"Girls, please." Evelyn sighed and got their attention, "We can bicker later. I assume these all came from the tombs beneath the city along with the blood, right?"

"I believe so," Arianna sat up straighter, "From what I know it was taken out by scholars at Byrgewerth, but no one's been to that place in ages. Calls it cursed now." Arianna scoffed a bit, "Like this whole town isn't cursed. But the blood was brought here by Laurence, The First Vicar."

"Vicar?" Evelyn tilted her head.

"It's the highest ranking in the church." Irene peiped up, "He brought the blood here along with knowledge of the Great Ones. These people are said to be holy healers who can cure any disease." 

Evelyn thought back a bit to the beast she fought, "Are there... Clerics?"

"Not really in name, but might as well be. What you really need to fear are those doctors that come along. A lot of them ae currently mad and wandering the streets as husks, but the sane ones ae worse. If they come knocking, chances are you could die. They like trying to rid of the beast scourge before it appears." Arianna frowned a little as she spoke.

"There was one guy saying something like bless the church..." Evelyn mused.

"Probably mistaking you for one of them." Arianna sighs. "I'm very sorry for saying this Irene, but it's hard to think good of the Church, especially considering Old Yharnam..."

"Old Yharnam?" Evelyn tilted her head, it seemed that both girls were equally confused.

"The oldest part of the city started to get sick with something called Ashen Blood, or so they say. The church rushed in to help with the blood, and it did work... but not for too long. The town started turning, hunters were deployed to get rid of it, but it wasn't enough. they burnt the town and sealed it off, damning anyone still left alive down there, or so the story goes. The Church will never speak of it, but you hear quite a bit from gossiping old men."

"That sounds like the perfect place for a nightmare to be hiding," Evelyn mused, "I think I better pay it a visit, but first..." Evelyn started to stand, "I promised a couple people I would check up on them, I better go do that."

"Are you going to use your magic to get to them?" Bonnie asked with a small smile. 

"Well it certainly beats walking." Evelyn stretched her arms and felt a satisfying pop in her shoulders. She walked over to the lamp in the middle of the room, "I'll be back in a bit ok. Please be good for Arianna."

"We will!" Bonnie stood up and gave her most innocent smile. They then watched the hunter dissolve into wisps of light and vanish into thin air. Arianna had thought Evelyn had just been playing along with a game for Bonnie when she mentioned magic, and it clearly showed when her she squeaked as the Hunter vanished into thin air like that.

"See! Evelyn is magic!" Bonnie pointed at where the hunter was.

"I... how...?" Arianna raised a hand up to her head.

"Don't think too hard on it." Irene told her, "I was just as surprised as you. Also," Irene peered over the railing to what Arianna first thought was a red cloth over a  pile of crates, "Aren't you going to introduce yourself mister dweller?" 

The Chapel Dweller who had shyly been huddling up in a corner suddenly looked up and managed to wave, "U-Uh... hello there..."

At this point, Arianna didn't really know what to think. She just watched a kind stranger vanish into nothing, and she had been questioning if she was even real or not. But the girls seemed to think Evelyn was real, but... She shook her head, and decided to take Irene's advice and not think too hard on it. She needed to be the adult for these two children while Evelyn was gone, or at least try to be one. "...Nice to meet you." she replied, rubbing at her temples, wondering just what she signed up for.


	8. The Old Man on the Old Clocktower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After visiting Iosefka and Gilbert like she promised, Evelyn finds an old woman and sends her on her way to Oedon Chapel, and finds much to her delight that Arianna and the girls are getting along wonderfully, and even the Chapel Dweller is slowly coming out of his shell. Down towards Old Yharnam she goes, meeting a strange man named Alfred, who tells her a bit more, and then making her way into Old Yharnam, she quickly finds that she has far more on her hands than she anticipated. 
> 
> Nothing kills a hunter faster than another hunter after all.

Something is wrong here.

"Oh, hello there." The woman greeted. Evelyn had quickly made the trek back to Iosefka as she promised she would return. "Splendid. Can I ask you a small kindness?"

"Uhh..." Evelyn frowned, "Maybe?"

"Well, you're off to hunt soon, I presume? If you find any survivors, tell them to come to Iosefka's Clinic. Under my Hippocratic oath, if they are yet Human, I will look after them, perhaps even cure them. This sickness, these beasts, they are not to be feared. This time the night is long. I may be trapped here, but I should do something to help. I'll even offer you a reward for your cooperation."

Her entire demeanor had changed. The woman who told her firmly but gently that she could not open her doors was now telling her to bring people here so she could cure them. She also sounded different in voice, but Evelyn had a hard time figuring out exactly what it was. Evelyn didn't like it, and wasn't about to let it slide.

"Hold the fuck up." Evelyn was tempted to grab the woman through the broken windows on the door, "What's this shit about bringing people here, woman? Whatever happened to 'can't let the infection spread?'"

"Don't worry about it. Plans and things have changed." Iosefka sweetly replied. Evelyn glared at the shadow behind the door, not trusting it for a moment.

"Whatever you say." she growled at it before stomping back down the stairs. It was better not to waste her time on this person. Gilbert's was not too far away, and the madmen who had wandered back into the area were hardly a threat to her. As she climbed back up the ladder, she could still hear him hacking and coughing away. She lightly tapped on his window to tell him she was here. There was another round of hacking, before he managed to get out a question.

"Evelyn? Is that you?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Evelyn nodded, "I made it to Cathedral Ward. I'm still working on getting this night to end. Hopefully soon though..."

"Of course... ah that makes me happy. I'm glad you made it."

Evelyn looked down for a moment before back at the shadow in the window, "Now that I'm there, is there anything I can do to help you?"

There was another fit of coughing before he replied, "Ah... you needn't concern yourself with me. I'm afraid I'm of little help now. I don't think anything can really... but before I..." she heard him shifting about, and he finally opened the window. She saw a man... a young man. He was pale, sick, barely able to turn in his chair to slide the window open. His blue eyes were so tired, his dark hair almost starting to gray. Evelyn felt her heart twist as she took her hat off and lowered her face cover so he could at least see the face of a fellow outsider that could've very easily ended up in his shoes. She watched him reach over to what she assumed was a table and handed her a strange metal container. It looked like it could be lit on the end, and there was a handle with a small lever...

"Here, take this." he croaked out, "It's of little use to me now, but perhaps you..." he then seemed to double over, and Evelyn could see him cough up blood on the floor. He weakly managed to get himself back into a sitting position and seemed to sigh, "What afflicted me was incurable... but this town gave me hope... Their strange blood at the very least bought me time. I suppose in a way, I'm most fortunate." He smiled and laughed a bit, even though it was clearly a bit painful, "I can even die human..."

Evelyn gave him a small smile, "I guess there's always a silver lining."

"Thank you for visiting me. Can I ask a selfish favour though?"

"Selfish?" Evelyn asked.

"Can you come back again later? It's nice to talk to someone." he turned back to see her to the best of his ability.

"I can, and I wouldn't call it selfish." Evelyn nodded.

He seemed to take come comfort in that as he reached over to the window, "Thank you Evelyn. I'll see you next time then..."

He managed to shut the window. Evelyn put her hat back on and brought her face cover back up over her nose. She would be back. That was a promise.

* * * *

She had taken the time to wandering Yharnam to see if she missed anyone that was willing to get some help. She found only one cranky old lady who Evelyn was sure would throw something at her through the window, even after she told her of Oedon Chapel. There was no other who would move from their spots, choosing to stay inside, not knowing how doomed they were.

The old lady insisted she would go alone, so Evelyn walked back into the Chapel alone the same way she came in the first time. When she came up the stairs she found herself smiling at the sight. Bonnie was sitting on Arianna's lap, doing her best to read Alice in Wonderland to her, while the woman helped her with the harder words. Irene sat on the floor beside them, listening to her read, and seemingly starting to doze off. Even Bonnie seemed to start falling asleep. Evelyn was honestly surprised that it hadn't happened earlier.

"I am not a... a..." Bonnie started to yawn and rubbed at her eyes.

"I think it might be time to consider sleeping my dears. I'm sure there's something downstairs we can use for a bed so you don't have to sleep on the floor." Arianna gently told them both as she took the book out of Bonnie's hands.

"But I wanna..." the tired girl yawned again, "Stay up..."

"I think Arianna's right." Evelyn piped up. The girls looked over to the doorway to see her, "You two need to sleep I think."

"But Eve..." Bonnie started to protest, but found herself being picked up and being placed on her feet on the ground by Arianna as she stood up.

"No buts. You two will need your rest tonight." Arianna told them. In a way, she hoped they would sleep through the whole thing, and then wake up when the sun rose. Maybe then they could think it all as a bad dream...

"Hey, come on Irene." Evelyn held out a hand for the girl to take. She looked at her for a moment before grabbing it and letting Evelyn help her to her feet. Evelyn felt her squeeze it a little and gently wrapped a gloved hand around hers. Irene seemed to appreciate it.

"I'll take care of this." Arianna piped up with a smile, "You go do what you must."

"You sure?" Evelyn asked with slight concern on her face.

"Quite sure."

She then felt the hand she was holding squeeze and looked down to Irene.

"Be careful miss Evelyn." Irene told her before letting go and taking her sister's hand. Evelyn couldn't help but smile as that warmed her heart.

"I'll sure try to be. Goodnight girls."

She then walked past them as the three of them shuffled downstairs to try and make some comfortable sleeping arrangements. There would be no rest yet for Evelyn as she slipped back onto the streets. Gehrman hadn't been too helpful with directions, but she had a general idea of where this place she was looking for was. He also said something about Chalices in that place as well that unlocked places where she could get stronger. Evelyn wasn't too interested in that right now, opting to slink through the streets towards a small chapel away from the one she was calling a safehouse. The madmen and their dogs meant little in the wake of her Axe, still going strong as she been caring for it. Around the chapel went a set of stairs to the second floor of the chapel. A dumb idea, Evelyn thought to herself, to have the stairs to the second floor on the outside. Then again, this was Yharnam. Smart ideas aren't exactly common.

Inside on the second floor balcony she finds a lever. Naturally when one finds a lever one must pull it. She could see a large stony coffin of some sort move down below revealing stairs. Even if that doesn't lead down to Old Yharnam, things like that are always worth checking out.

"Oh?" Evelyn looked up at the sound of a voice. Someone had opened the door on the other side of the balcony and now was peering at her with curiosity, "A Hunter are you?"

"Why does everyone ask that when it's really obvious? Apparently I smell like one too." Evelyn straightened herself up and looked at him with a tilt of her head.

He laughed, "You've been very busy then! Should I also point out you're an outsider as well?"

"While you're at it, you might as well be like 'Oh no! An outsider! The worst thing to ever happen never mind the beasts that are breaking down the door.'"

He seemed to get a good laugh out of that, "A hunter with humor! Good! Good!" he waved her over, "Why don't we chat? I'm sure you have plenty of questions. I was once a beast hunter myself after all!"

Evelyn did come closer. Even if he was playing her and she was about to get shanked, well it wasn't like she couldn't come back. He seemed to have no interest though. As she walked out she could see a shrine to a man wearing long robes, but on his head was a strange cone...

"Who's that for?" She asked.

"Ah, that is for my Master: Martyr Logarius.  I am Alfred, part of his group called The Executioners. And you? What's your name miss?"

"Evelyn." she felt like she's introduced herself here more times tonight that she ever had in her entire life. He walked beside her to the shrine, and she noticed that it had been well kept, and the burning candles seemed fresh. Alfred hadn't been here for too long.

"Well met. Beast hunting is a sacred practice Evelyn, and I see you've done for fair share." Alfred turned his gaze to the statue, "You're from a far off land. Is it anything like here?"

"Not at all. Valismet is a fishing town, outside of one of the big empires. It's right on a major trade route, so we get plenty of travelers going to and for the city nearby. I was a different kind of Hunter there. I patrolled the town at night, made sure no one got too rowdy. This is a whole new game out here."

"I see." Alfred nodded, "Sounds quite a bit more peaceful out there."

He looked back at her with the same smile. His unruly golden locks went well his his sideburns and the white intricate Executioner robes, but there was something about his eyes that wasn't... quite right. It wasn't malice or anything of the sort. They just looked a bit funny. 

"Can you tell me more about the Healing Church? I've been getting that they're the big figure head, started off from somebody named Laurence, and deal out blood."

"Of course! As you know, it is indeed the fountain of blood feeling. While I am not so sure about the inner workings, I do know it's now generated in the main Cathedral and that councilors of the old church reside in the high stratum of the Cathedral Ward."

Evelyn laughed a bit, "This place just keeps going and going, doesn't it? What about Laurence, the one who brought it here from Byrgenwerth? He's not still kicking, is he?"

"Afraid not. The Church says he died after complications, but aren't too specific as to how."

Evelyn nodded. She wanted to say how that was hugely suspicious, but this man seemed to think highly of them, so she decided against it, "What about Byrgenwerth itself then?"

"Ah, it's an old place of learning, and the Tomb of the Gods, carved out beneath Yharnam, should be familiar to every hunter."

"Wait, hold up a second." She raised her hand up, "They found this stuff beneath the city?"

"Indeed! I see you already know what was there, but today the College lies in a tangled wood, abandoned and decrepit. Furthermore, the Healing Church has declared Byrgenwerth as Forbidden  Grounds. It's unclear how many scholars remain a live, and only they know the password to get past the gate leading there."

All of this was interesting, but it made Evelyn all the more uneasy. There were far too many whys for her liking, and she doubted that Alfred knew the answer to any of them. Why is Byrgenwerth forbidden when that's where it all came from? Why did they find this buried beneath Yharnam? Usually when things like that were buried, there was a good reason for it. Why were they covering how their founder died? 

"Listen uh, I should be going. If I go down those stairs I revealed, will I end up at Old Yharnam?" Evelyn asked with a tilt of her head.

"You should. Been a while since they sealed it up. Though if they wanted people out, why they would leave the way back in is beyond me."

"This entire town is beyond me ridiculous, I have to be honest."

He chuckled, "Well, I suppose that's to be expected. I bid you farewell then. May the good blood guide your way."

She turned and started to walk back inside. It was nice to meet another friendly face, and she learned at least a bit more now. As she hopped down the balcony and started going down the stairs, her thoughts began to wander. When she first heard of the Tombs and Byrgenwerth, she thought those things were so far away. Now it seemed the built the city right over top of everything. It was clear as she went further down the stairs and ladder that Old Yharnam was much closer to ground level. It would make sense that this was Ground Zero for the curse if it came about from tombs beneath the city, and hence why it was burned to try and prevent the spread. That was assuming that this curse came from some sort of magic that was also sealed beneath. But burning the town didn't work. Why didn't it work was the next question they should've asked but perhaps they hadn't yet...

The night ends, it always does, people have been saying. That means this had been repeated several times over and was considered normal. They decided instead of a new solution, to keep going with the Hunts. Now what was the reason there was no new solution? The Healing Church was the main governor of this town, and has already proven itself shady. If she could dive a bit more into it, she might be able to figure out why.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she spots a lamp at the bottom floor. She lit it up, and looked over to the ancient wood door. As she got closer, she noticed a piece of paper with writing scrawled on it. NOTICE: THIS AREA IS OFF LIMITS! HUNTERS ARE NOT WELCOMED HERE! Evelyn scowled at the note. To her, that was even more reason to enter Ground Zero and discover its secrets, if there were any left to be found.

Putting both hands on the door, it slowly opened with a loud creak and groan that echoed throughout the place. As Evelyn walked out to the open street, she could see there were fires still burning, smoke still rising up. The stone remained untouched, but anything wood was charred. An awful scent radiated off of this place, and Evelyn gripped her axe a little tighter.

"YOU THERE!" a voice suddenly echoed out and startled Evelyn. She looked towards the clocktower where she thought the voice come from. "HUNTER! DIDN'T YOU SEE THE WARNING? TURN BACK AT ONCE!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Evelyn shouted back, "I thought this place was abandoned!"

"It was! Burned and abandoned by men, only home to beasts! They mean no harm to those above! Turn back at once! Or the Hunter will face the hunt!"

Evelyn shook her head in disbelief, "Look buddy I'm just trying to end this hunt and whatever can make this night end might be here! I get you're trying to play hero and keep people from wandering in there and getting hurt but seriously...!"

"It's not you I fear for! It's the beasts! You've seen it! They were once human!"

Evelyn couldn't answer that for a second, squinting at the clocktower in confusion, "I... Are you serious?"

"Quite. Mock me as you wish, but these beasts do not deserve to be slaughtered!"

"I..." Evelyn raised a hand to her head before running it down her face in exasperation, "Look I'm not even going to try to explain everything wrong with that mindset and just try to find what I'm looking for, ok? I'll try to kill the least amount of beasts I can, if that'll make you happy."

She started to walk across the bridge, and the first one of the beasts came running at her. They were a smaller version of the one she first met, and provided little resistance against her axe. She didn't intend to kill every beast, but anything that ran out after her was something she had to deal with. She had no idea how long this hunter had been down here, but he must be delusional if he thought he was doing these beasts a favour. 

More came at her in a very short timespan, and they all fell to her, one by one. Above her she could hear him call down to her again.

"You're a skilled hunter. Adept, ambitious, half-cut with blood, as the best hunters are."

Evelyn rolled her eyes as another beast went down, "Thanks for the..."

"Which is why I must stop you!"

"Wait what?" Evelyn looked up to the clocktower and saw a flurry of bullets coming at her. She had no time to react as they came down upon her and killed her in a mere matter of seconds. She didn't hear the part he said afterwards, and instead was whisked away back to the lamp where she started.

She woke up with a gasp as she was revived again. As she stood up and shook her head, the last phantoms of her death shaking off, she found herself being very confused, before that turned into annoyance. It probably wasn't a good sign that she was more annoyed than anything else that she died, but she didn't think too much on it as she stomped back out again into the open to where he wasn't able to shoot her.

"Excuse me!? What the actual fuck?!" she shouted back at him. She could've sworn she heard him sigh.

"So you dream, do you? Well, I suppose I can still always deter you!"

"Are you really going to be that guy right now? Really? Listen you are not doing these beasts a favour! They are no longer human, no longer themselves, lost their god damn minds ages ago! These beasts are probably eating each other because they're starving and they can't find any other food!"

"They still feel pain!"

"What the fuck doesn't? Look bud this is not exactly a great existence being a mindless beasts that can only attack things and have no higher...!"

"Who are we to judge what they feel?"

Evelyn groaned and rolled her eyes, "Oh for fuck's sake." she grumbled as she started off again to where she was killed last time. Looking at it now she could see a place where she could duck for cover, but she could see that this man had great sights, and she had to go down. As the first wave of bullets came at her, she hide behind a large statue and tried to plan out where she would go, but it was difficult when you really couldn't see way other way except down some stairs. Gritting her teeth once the bullets stopped she made a break for it and ran towards them following down into the building she was on top of. As she made the sprint into a blasted out room on the right, she quickly realized she made a mistake as it was full of pots. The man fired trough a large gap in the wall, and they exploded right in front of her, killing her instantly.

As she woke back up again and grumbled, she had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to take a while.


	9. The Bloodstarved Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn learns that killing a nightmare isn't so easy, while the girls bond with Arianna while waiting for the night to pass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Sorry for the long delay folks. It's a long one though

The minutes seemed to tick by at a snail's pace for Arianna. She had found some blankets and soft bedding that would work for the girls, but she herself sat on a chair in the library, keeping an eye out or anything coming up from the basement. The only person that came up that way was an old lady. She had been quietly cursing all the way up the ladder, but one look at the two girls attempting to sleep, she clamped up and quietly went upstairs. She hadn't heard a peep from her since, which was just fine by her. 

It was hard staying awake and watching the ladder. She knew no beast could get in, but humans could, and there weren't many kind ones here in Yharnam. The last thing she wanted was for someone to come in and, heaven forbid, try to hurt these girls in any way. She was no hunter, but she had a way with words, and if all else failed, she could push them back down the hole. She would look over every now and then to the girls holding tight to one another, one whimpering in their sleep before going quiet. She can only imagine what they had been through the last... hours? She wasn't sure how long it had been.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and the next thing she recalled was being shaken awake by small hands.

"Hm...?" she opened her eyes, and through bleary vision she saw both girls were awake. Bonnie was gently shaking her arm while Irene sat on the bed looking at her, "Oh... hello dears. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drift off."

"It's ok miss Arianna." Irene piped up, "We just could't sleep anymore..."

"Of course." Arianna nodded as she watched Bonnie circle to stand in front of her. Both children still seemed rather tired. Seeing Bonnie staring at her, she patted her lap to invite the girl to sit on it. The smaller one clamoured on and held onto the woman for some sort of comfort.

"Mum lets her do that a lot... well... she did." Irene looked down at her lap.

"I'm afraid to ask," Arianna placed a hand on Bonnie's back, "but what did happen? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to of course." 

"Daddy turned into a beast." Bonnie quietly whimpered, "We tried to stop it, but Evelyn had to kill him. Mum died too in there."

"Oh no..." Arianna felt her shoulders sink as she looked at both girls, "I'm so sorry. That's awful."

Irene slowly got up and walked over, looking the woman in the eye, "Do you think we could've saved daddy? Or at least convince mum not to go out there?"

Arianna felt for them. She couldn't imagine what they were going through right now. She really had no family to speak of, but to lose someone very close she knows is pain. To be so young and to the people who cared for you was hard, and she could see that as Irene stood there attempting not to cry, and Bonnie looking up at her with those big eyes for an answer to a question she wondered as well. Her hand gently went up and down the younger's one back while the other reached over to touch Irene's shoulder

"There's not much use in thinking 'what if' my dear. We cannot go back and change it. Please don't blame yourself for things that were beyond your control."

Irene bit down on her lower lip, still looking at the woman who was also stranded here. This woman had been nothing but kind to them, and they hardly knew her. A part of her wondered if something sent this woman here. A part of her wondered if something sent Evelyn to protect them no matter the cost. At the same time, why did it not just save her parents if it knew something would happen? Either way, Bonnie seemed to have taken some comfort from that and seemed a bit more relaxed. Irene was tempted to also sit on Arianna's lap with her, but she wondered if she would be somehow overstepping a boundary. She instead sat down beside the chair and leaned up against it.

"Did you want a chair or to sit on the bed? I'm not sure how comfortable that is." Arianna already asked this earlier about getting a chair, but Irene's answer was the same.

"I'm ok." She shook her head as she leaned up against Arianna's chair, taking a bit of comfort without feeling like she was making herself or anyone else uncomfortable. She liked it this way.

"Miss Arianna," Bonnie piped up, attempting to change the subject. "What do you do?"

"Oh... well..." Arianna had to think for a moment on how to word it, "I uh... I do favours for people who need them."

"Favours?" Irene looked up with a tilt of her head.

"It's a long story." Arianna sighed, "Maybe when you're older I can explain better."

Irene nodded a little, "I was going to be a blood saint, or so they told me. I don't know if I can now."

Arianna felt her shoulders slump as she turned to Irene. Blood Saints weren't exactly something people should be. They were people groomed to give blood that was more potent than normal and to sell it off. It wasn't much different than what she did, it was just more celebrated as holy. She's seen blood saints around before, and though they put on a front of happiness, she could see past that to a pain she was familiar with. Of course, to the general populous, they were celebrated, and proud of it, and it made sense that their parents supposed it as they probably didn't have any hint as to what went on behind closed doors.

"That might not be such a bad thing. If you're a blood saint, then you won't have time to draw your pretty pictures." 

Irene raised his brows and looked up at the woman, "You like them?"

"Of course I do." Arianna smiled down at her, "I'm sure if you keep practicing, you'll be a fine artist whose works will travel across the world."

Irene managed a small smile, "Thank you miss."

"You can just call me Arianna dear. No need for that. We're friends now, aren't we?"

Irene nodded, "You sound like Evelyn now. She likes you."

Arianna couldn't help but giggle, "You've noticed too hm? I've never seen a woman look so bashful in my entire life."

"Do you like her?" Bonnie asked with a grin.

"Oh, well..." Arianna glanced off to the side for a moment, a small smile coming to her face, "Well, I would like to get to know such a kind woman better. How does someone like her end up here of all places?"

"She didn't tell us." Irene mused, "...but we didn't ask. Maybe she was sick..."

"Perhaps, though it's hard to imagine her sick."

Irene was rather quiet after that, but seemed to be quite happy to listen to Bonnie babble about school and what she's looking forward to when the night is over. It was far better than thinking about the real consequences of losing both parents. Irene wanted to ask Arianna if she could look after them when this was all over, but she couldn't bring herself to. They hadn't known each other for long, and though she had been kind, she had also been vague on 'favours.' She still didn't know what that meant.

Arianna looked down at the blonde girl, gently placing a hand on her head. She looked up, a bit surprised, but the small smile that followed after let Arianna know she was doing the right thing. The girl leaned up against the chair, letting that hand rest on her head. It wasn't the hand she was used to from her mother, but it was still a comfort.

* * * *

Evelyn lost count of her deaths as she navigated through Old Yharnam. She had given up negotiating with the old hunter on the rooftop a while back. As she sat behind a broken brick wall waiting out the stream of bullets, a part of her did start to wonder if this 'nightmare' was here. She wanted to investigate to find out, but of course this man was blocking her progress. If it wasn't the man that killed her, it was a beast popping out of the smoke she wasn't ready for because she had been busy dodging bullets. She supposed she could see where he was coming from, but to protect things that wanted nothing more than to tear you apart was foolish in her mind. She tried helping them once, it nearly got her and the girls killed. They might have been people once with their livelihoods and feelings, but those were gone, never to be seen again.

"You're going to run out of ammo eventually." Evelyn called out on deaf ears. Indeed he would, and then she would be left alone. She didn't want to really wait for that to happen though. Not only did she want to leave as soon as she could, Arianna and the girls were also waiting on the night to end. 

When would it end was her question. Would it really end here?

When the stream of bullets finally stopped she dashed out across the makeshift bridge and into another building. There were more beasts inside and as soon as they saw her, they came at her snarling and clawing at her. No matter how you cut it, Evelyn had to kill them before they killed her. There was no getting around it. Running and dodging was a surefire way to get herself killed. She already wasted enough time trying to get down here, she didn't need to die a few more times to these beasts when an Axe to the head could put them out of their misery just as quick.

At the base of the clocktower, Evelyn finally managed to dodge his shots and kill what was in the way to get to relatively safe place. She could see the ladder that the man used to get to the top. She could go to the top and push that old man off of the edge so he would never be a problem again, but the thought sent an odd sort of guilt through her. Pushing sad old men off of towers wasn't exactly something she did, even if he killed her several times. She did understand where this man was coming from, even if it was foolish. Eventually this man would die here, either to old age and illness, or to the very beasts he swore to protect. That fate sounded far sadder in her mind, and hearing him shout from the tower that he would find her just made a sense of pity come over her. 

With that thought and the possibility that he could be climbing down to chase her, she decided to move on. Through the abandoned Cathedral to its lowest level she found more beasts. Beasts that would call upon others made it impossible to run right through. A bloodbath followed as her axe cleaved through each and every single one of them as to came to the bottom floor. It was hard to understand why anyone one would want to protect this place as she saw the dangling beast from the chandelier above her. Whatever the case, as she came to the lowest streets, she finally found a way back to her lamp through an old tower that would avoid the old man. That was good at least, so if she messed up, she could get back to here without dodging bullets.

At the end of the abandoned streets she came to a path into another chapel. Lining it was rows upon rows of crosses with beasts whose bodies still smoldered. She swallowed dry seeing them all. Perhaps they hoped to offer them to the gods in some sort of sick ritual to get it all to stop. Or maybe they hoped to burn the beasts out. Here at ground zero of this curse she could see their desperate attempts to rid themselves of the beastly scourge. People were dying here, then the church came, and then the beasts, and then the hunts that weren't enough, then they tried to burn it all to prevent further infection...

It didn't work, and all that was on Evelyn's lips as she walked between them to the entrance was: What really happened here?

She could see something on the other side of the chapel before the altar as she entered. Its breathing echoed through the tall ceilings and pillars holding it up. Evelyn's steps were quiet as she approached, Axe in her hand, sure in her steps, even though she was certain this new creature would be a far bigger challenge.

It turned around, showing a face similar to a skull's. Its flesh was raw, the 'hair' was long skin flaps on either side if its head that had been torn over the years. When Evelyn looked upon it, a part of her deep down knew this was not her target. This wasn't what she had been after. At the same time, this thing shouldn't be allowed to exist as it let out a mighty shriek at her and started to race at her. It was contained down here, sure, but one day it wouldn't matter. One day the door wouldn't matter. That was the most foolish part of it all, and Evelyn knew that as she ran forward at it, meeting aggression with more aggression. It didn't matter how many times she died. She would get smarter, it wouldn't. This was not like Gascoigne where death had any real consequence. Her death meant nothing.

There was a rip of flesh from both parties. The beast had clawed into her side while the axe had found its mark in the back of its neck. They pushed away from each other, the hunter jabbing a vial into her thigh to heal the damage done. The beast charged at her and the woman was able to dodge as the beast nearly faceplanted into the pillar. It had an array of quick swipes, a habit of rushing forth, and it made the hunter grateful for the long reach her weapon provided as she had to roll out of the way before she was completely torn apart or chase after the beast as it seemed to leap in great bounds across the chapel. So far it was just like the cleric beast: stay on its side or back, but it wasn't as easy to get more than one hit on it.

Which might not have been a bad thing. Just when Evelyn felt like she was starting to get the upper hand on the beast it seemed to spew something from its pores. It entered her lungs, making her choke and cough...

Her first death was to poison. The second time she ran in better prepared with antidotes. She died getting caught using them. The third time was was angry, reckless, and she died accordingly.

The fourth time she stood on top of the body, with nothing to thank her but echoes and an old chalice. A lamp became available to her at least, and she was able to return to the hunters dream.

Rest... she just wanted some rest, but not here.

Still, she would not be rude to Mary, the lovely doll. She would still say hello and make some small talk before running off again. She seemed to light up as Evelyn's vision faded in along with her body.

"Good Hunter, you have returned." she stepped forward, which surprised Evelyn. Perhaps she was getting on friendlier terms with her...?

"Hey Mary. I didn't think you'd be so happy to see me."

"Why wouldn't I? And besides, the little ones have found a gift for you. They tell me that you could use it." The doll reached for her pocket and pulled out two bells. One was larger, older, and far more decorative. The other was smaller and simpler, "These bells communicate with each other. Ring the large one."

Evelyn took the larger one from her hand and gave it a ring. The smaller one rang in response. The Hunter seemed to light right up as she started to connect the dots.

"The bigger one is a beckoning bell. No matter where you are, if that bell rings, the other will resonate and call you. The little ones will take you to the beckoning bell, even if they are scared by something near the bell."

"Wait, they get scared?"

"Of course... do you not get scared?"

Evelyn's awkward glance away was enough of an answer.

"I should get back to the girls... and come up with plan B since plan A was a bust."

"The girls?" Mary tilted her head.

"Two little girls and a woman I found. They're being holed up in Oedon Chapel. It's the safest place at the moment."

"Ah, I've heard of that place. Here, allow me to give you strength before you return..."

* * * * 

The three ladies had moved up to the main room now. Arianna, through with Irene's stubbornness, had carried up a chair for the girl to sit them on along with a hardback book she could use as a clipboard to draw on. Much to the woman's delight and amusement, the sisters were small enough they both fit on the oversized chairs. They seemed to be in better spirits now, Bonnie watching her sister draw. They didn't seem to have the energy to run around and play tag or something like that, but that was understandable. Arianna glanced over to the quiet chapel dweller who seemed overjoyed that the girls were happy as well, and couldn't help but give him a small smile.

"Miss Arianna?" Bonnie piped up.

"Yes?" the woman looked over.

"Is there anyone else you know that you want to be here?" 

"What do you mean by that?" Arianna asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Like... I have my sister here. I wish Auntie Eileen was here. We could ask Miss Evelyn to find them next time she's here."

"Oh... no, I can't say that. Other than Evelyn of course."

"Why not?" Bonnie looked up at her with innocent eyes. Irene also perked up hearing this.

"It's... well, not a lot of people are fond of me, and I lost my family a long time ago." Arianna tried to explain it as best as she could.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Bonnie looked down.

"It's alright, no need to apologize. It's been a long time and I was very young." Arianna gave the smaller girl a smile to try and assure her. The smaller girl slid off of her chair and walked up to her, reaching up to one of her hands. They seemed awfully big compared to Bonnie's.

"Does it... does it get better?" Bonnie asked as she looked up at her. Arianna answered without hesitation, even though some of what she was about to say was not true for her own life.

"It does. The pain heals. You do feel better. They want you to be happy after all now that they're gone. Life will get better."

She couldn't say for herself the last sentence applied to her. It was hard to be happy when you lived as a whore and was shunned by everyone. If she had a choice, she would've left this town behind. But where would she have gone? Where would she ever begin to start her life over? What worried her far more now was the fate of these two little girls. Who would care for them when the night's over? She hoped it would be this Auntie Eileen. If Arianna cared for them, they would forever be subject to her lifestyle whether she intended it or not. There would be far too many consequences, and simply put, it wasn't safe for them. Was it better than getting stuck in an orphanage though? She's heard stories from the Upper Cathedral, more whispers, but nothing that could bring about any good.

Before the girls could really respond to that, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Bonnie seemed to light right up, thin king perhaps it was Evelyn coming back, but those hopes were quickly dashed seeing the blonde woman step up the last few stairs. Arianna sat up in her seat as the woman looked about the room. She was't standing as some proud hunter, nor was she slouching like someone who was exhausted. It was almost... predatory, and that was already giving Arianna red flags. Another one was when she spoke, and Bonnie suddenly seemed a lot more scared than she already was.

"I'm looking for that outsider. Have you seen her?" she looked at Arianna with narrowed eyes. Irene was standing up now, moving to stand in front of her younger sister. Arianna also stood up, moving herself right in front of both girls.

"I'm sorry, there are quite a few outsiders, you'll have to be more specific." Arianna put on a smile for the woman who already seemed less than amused.

"Don't play games with me whore. You know who I'm talking about." The woman growled back. Irene felt a spark of anger hearing the woman call Arianna that.

"Why you...!" Irene hissed, almost half ready to run up to the woman and punch her in the face, but was stopped by Arianna holding her hand out in front of her.

"Good to know I've gotten so imfamous that you call others such horrid words in front of children. I don't really care my dear that you call me that, but for the sake of the children, lets not use words like that." Arianna lowered her hand down.

"Cursed blood and sex, how much lower can one get? Kids should know who to deal with it. Now answer the damn question." The woman reached for the hilt of her blade but Arianna seemed rather unfazed, almost annoyed.

"Oh please. Don't bear your teeth if you won't bite. You wouldn't draw blood in front of them." Arianna took a confident step forward, which made the woman lower her stance, seeming surprised that the other wasn't affected by the threat at all.

"Tell me where Evelyn is." 

Arianna shrugged, "I'm afraid I don't know my dear. Though if you're going to stand there an interrogate me why not give me a name hm?" 

"Maria." Bonne piped up from behind her sister, "M-Miss Maria."

"Interesting." Arianna took another confident stride forward as she looked the other over, and the other woman seemed to cower a little, though she didn't want it to appear that way, "I think I've also heard of you. Advocate for blood purity, caught assaulting the non locals than let go because _of course_ they would let you go, and now I see you're adding threatening harmless women and scaring children to that list."

Maria was practically fuming at this point, "Enough! This outsider is dangerous, like the rest of them. They taint the blood, they make people sick! Just tell me where she is so I can get rid of her." Maria hissed back.

"Ah yes, the dangerous outsider who is off hunting beasts, brought these two little girls here, help me here despite my status, helped a old lady despite her grumbling about outsiders as well..."

"I HEARD THAT YOU WRETCH!" The old woman shouted from the corner. Arianna ignored her.

"...as I was saying, my point is, I think if anyone here is the danger, its you. Now if you're quite done and really want to help, go and kill some beasts. That will be much more useful."

Maria scowled at her. Irene turned to her sister, ready to cover her ears if some profanities came out, and at least try to save her sister's innocence somewhat.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do you slut. Sit back in you chair and just be happy you were found by her and not me."

"Oh yes, because you're trying so hard to bring people here to safety. Listen my dear, I'm afraid we share a bit more in common that you'd like here, so maybe we could have a more civilized conversation instead."

"I have nothing in common with you." Maria took a step towards the woman, but Arianna remained standing tall. The number of times she's been threatened were uncountable, and she knew how to stand her ground.

"I'm afraid you do." Arianna smile suddenly seemed a lot more sinister, "You see... if you died, no one would miss you either."

 Maria's eyes went wide hearing that, as did both of the girls. They watched as Maria grew red in the face, reaching back for her sword once more. 

"You.... you wretched...!" she spluttered out.

"Maria Holland," Arianna's smile faded as her facial expression turned far more stern, "the only reason I know your name is because of old gossiping men. No family to speak of either, right? And judging from that reaction, hardly any friends either."

The chikage was drawn, the tip of it pointed at Arianna's throat. The woman was practically shaking in anger, but there were far too many reasons why to separate them. 

"Stop it!" Bonnie shouted, trying to grab their attention. Irene clenched her jaw, considering rushing the woman to get her to lower the sword. But as that thought crossed her mind, rushed footsteps could be heard from downstairs. She had a feeling she knew who this was, and it would end this confrontation very quickly.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't slit your throat for protecting that outsider!" Maria roared.

"Because if you do, she'll come and kill you." Irene spoke up, glowering at Maria. Almost right on cue the footsteps came to the top of the stairs. Maria turned around and her face paled seeing the very hunter she caused this mess over standing in the doorway, weapon drawn, her eyes narrowed, her grip sure and ready. She lowered the sword slowly, debating options.

"...So Maria, give me a good reason we shouldn't take this outside?" Evelyn hissed.

Maria looked back at the exit that Arianna was blocking. The woman let out a breath through her nose and put that smile back on her face.

"Not that this hasn't been entertaining, but I think you're done with the theatrics. Perhaps now would be a good time to leave?" Arianna stepped aside and gestured towards the exit.

"Get out of here. Stop scaring my sister!" Irene shouted.

Maria spared a glance to the youngest sister who was cowering behind Irene. This was the girl she nearly got killed from her thoughtless words. She came here on a thin foundation on convincing herself it wasn't her fault and they were all somehow in danger from the outsider. They should be scared of her, not Maria. A part of her though told her she had made enough of a scene and she had not given a great impression either. But that was the whore's fault, wasn't it? She wouldn't cooperate. She had them all under her thumb...

"Maria." Evelyn's voice made the other whirl around to face her, "Gonna be honest, I knew you were full of shit when we first met, but I didn't think you were this big of a piece of shit."

"Why do you care? This woman is lower than dirt! And you're leaving her with children?" Maria spat back. Suddenly she felt a lot smaller as Evelyn strode right up to her, invading personal space and making her cower a little, even if they were the same height. That Axe was in its extended position, and she could feel its sharp edge hovering far too close.

"Let me spell it out for you in a way you understand. If she's lower than dirt then you belong in a rotting tomb under this god forsaken city. Now get out of this chapel and don't come back or I will take your head off of your shoulders."

"Is that a threat outsider?"

"It's a promise."

The two stared each other down for what felt like forever before Maria finally backed down. She sheathed her sword and stormed out into the streets. As soon as she was gone, Evelyn lowered her weapon as well and dropped her stance from threatening to concerned.

"Are you all alright? Did she hurt any of you?"

Bonnie shook her head, "She didn't hurt us."

"We're ok." Irene sighed.

"We're all alright my dear." Arianna sat down on her chair, and Bonnie clamored right onto her lap and curled up. Evelyn shrunk the axe down before sitting on the other chair. Before Irene could sit on the floor, Evelyn started to get back up again to allow her to sit instead. The girl shook her head.

"I'll stand."

Evelyn was too tired to argue, so she sat back down, "What on earth happened?"

"It seems Maria has you on her hit list." Arianna mused, "She came in here demanding to know where you were."

"Joke's on her, she kills me I just come back." Evelyn sat up, "What I'm more worried about is she threatened you."

"Worry less about me and more about the children. I can handle a dog that growls but won't bite." Arianna looked down to Bonnie. They then watched as Evelyn opened up her jacket and pulled out the Beckoning bell. She handed it over to Irene who was the closest.

"Ring that."

The girl did as was told. They all lit up as they heard another bell echo from within Evelyn jacket.

"Magic?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, more magic. Keep that bell. If you're ever in trouble, ring it, and I'll come running."

Irene smiled a little at the bell. This also made her feel a lot better about staying here, and also seemed to put the other two at ease as well. At least now they had a life line if something were to go completely wrong. They then watched the hunter let out a yawn and rub at her eyes.

"You should sleep." Bonnie piped up as she got down from Arianna's lap.

"Eh, I'll be..."

The little girl was already grabbing her hand and pulling on it, "Come on! There's a bed downstairs! Even adults need naps!"

Evelyn couldn't help the smile growing on her face, "Ok, I'll take a nap, but then I gotta get back to work, ok?"

Bonnie seemed happy with that. As Evelyn stood up the little girl practically was dragging her downstairs. Arianna giggled a little at the sight. Irene then turned to the woman, still concerned.

"That's a lie you know." Irene spoke up.

"Eh?" Arianna seemed rather confused.

"If you died, we would miss you. We would all be really sad."

Arianna felt a small smile as she felt her chest move again. These sweet little girls... they deserved so much better.

"Thank you Irene."

The girl did something she didn't expect next. She actually came up and hugged her. The woman felt a sense of joy that the older sister now felt comfortable enough to hug her. They deserved a lot better than having a whore care for them as far as Arianna was concerned, but she was doing her best, and she couldn't help but to return the hug anyways.


	10. Insight to the Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arianna and Evelyn see more of the girls family and world, and how it's crumbling around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry this took forever. School getting in the way and now I work full time so I'm a bit busy!

"That's quite the long face."

Maria raised a brow to the only man she did call a friend out here. Alfred had since moved from the entrance to Old Yharnam to a little deeper into the Cathedral Ward. Below them was the gates to Byrgenwerth, still blocked by a strange messenger at the door much to their dismay. Many wanted to make the pilgrimage there, including Alfred, but there was no other way but through that gate.

"Can't just say hello?" Maria grumbled as she lit up a cigar.

"Oooh, something happened." Alfred commented as he leaned back against the railing.

"Have you met this outsider? Evelyn?"  she asked after she took a long drag of smoke.

"Briefly. A nice woman, though certainly a fish out of water. Let me guess, she's your target. She also dreams, doesn't she? I can smell the moon from a mile away off of that one."

"She does, and now she's holing up people in Oedon Chapel and leaving kids with whores." Maria spat.

Alfred raised a brow, "You do realize that chapel is probably the safest place with the incense pouring out of it, right? And I also highly doubt a prostitute would get up to anything while the night goes on like this."

"Your point?"

"Your moral logic's running a little thin here I think Maria."

"Oh so you can tell me that not all outsiders are bad but when I tell you all Vilebloods are bad it's 'noooo we must bring righteous justice to the church and kill their queen!'"

Alfred glowered at that. This had always been a point of argument between them. He was part of the Executioners, Zealots who hunted Vilebloods, people from Cainhurst who preyed upon hunters. This was a branch the church made specially for them, as Cainhurst and their queen had declared war upon Yharnam with the simple act of killing their hunters, especially those from the church. They were, rather unfortunately, fans of Martyr-ism thanks to their leader Logarius.

The story goes that the executioners stormed Cainhurst, killing everything and everyone in their path. When their leader got to the Queen however, they discovered, much to their horror, that she was immortal. Queen Analise of the Vilebloods had taken so many blood dregs and so much blood, she could not be killed. Upon realizing this,  Logarius decided to stay behind and sealed the Queen away from the world. He essentially gave up his life to seal the leader away, but to Alfred, he still wasn't a true Martyr. He would love nothing more than to find the way to that castle, and succeed where his master failed.

"At least we have far more evidence they are all evil and corrupt." Alfred huffed.

"You say that as if my mother wasn't proof."

"You say that as if you believe that old wife's tale."

Maria growled a little before taking another puff, "Says the person who actively works for the church."

"Says the person acting like she doesn't."

He grinned a little at the death glare she gave. She hated how smug he would get when he came out on top of their little squabbles. She couldn't really be angry with him though, especially as that smile faded and he looked out to the Yharnam streets.

"Do you remember Maria? When these streets used to be livelier."

She nodded, "Yeah... those days leaving the church to go to the market were nice. Full of people. Some asshats, but what else is new."

After Maria's mother had passed, she had gone to the church, old enough to be taken in and raised. At first she was going to be a hunter of the church, but the girl wasn't so keen on killing people before they had signs of the sickness. She was far more interested in killing sources, such as outsiders. Her time there however allowed her to get in touch with Alfred, the only friend who hadn't turned at this point. Every one else she made friends with while being taught how to hunt had turned or been killed.

"Still remember that man giving out facepaintings and painting a lily on your cheek." Alfred smiled a little.

"You also crashed into that one man's cart too. Don't think I ever saw a human being get that red in the face."

"Didn't you also trip over some poor kid and crash face first into a fish stand?"

Maria laughed a little, "Took me forever to get rid of that smell." 

Those were far better days, they both knew it. Now they were adults, and the town was falling apart around them, despite their best efforts. Maria felt the guilt eating at her again, her thoughts drifting back to that one child...

"Maria," Alfred spoke up, "Why don't we go hunt some beasts, one last time?"

They both started as hunters, and they both held some love for the hunt still. Maria smiled a little and nodded, as the two would head to a spot they knew would be full of them that hardly got cleared out, even though it needed it still. To Hemwick Channel lane they both walked, and Maria forgot for a moment she was supposed to be hunting a 'dangerous' outsider.

* * * *

Evelyn woke with a start as she sat up in bed. The echoes of the dream she was having still lingered as she stared into nothing for a moment, gathering her bearings and breathing in an out to calm herself down. Yharnam seemed to have a way of twisting normal nightmares into something far more cruel. She hadn't had one about him in so long and she's pretty sure the last one didn't have beasts and blood everywhere.

_Breathe, breathe, it was just a dream..._

"Miss Evelyn?"

The hunter looked over to see Bonnie looking very concerned for her. The little girl watched in real time as the woman before started to relax and seem relieved that she was there.

"Hello Bonnie. Sorry if I startled you."

"You were tossing and turning and making sad sounds. I tried to wake you up..."

Evelyn nodded, "Yeah, even us adults get bad dreams."

"What was it about the hunt?" 

There was a bit of telling hesitation before, "Yeah. Just that. It's fine."

Evelyn started to get up, stretching out her muscles. She was only wearing trousers and the light dress shirt that came with her hunter's outfit. The shirt lifted up a little as Evelyn raised her hands above her head. It was then Bonnie spotted the most curious thing. She could see on the hunter's back was scarred quite heavily, as if she had been cut open multiple times. Innocent little Bonnie immediately assumed it was the beasts. What else could be that cruel?

"Does it hurt?" Bonnie asked.

"Eh?" Evelyn lowered her arms and turned to the smaller girl.

"Your back. It looks hurt."

The change in demour is instant as Evelyn pulled down her shirt, "N-No. It's fine Bonnie. It doesn't hurt."

The girl tilted her head as the woman hastily started to put the leather vest on, and then the coat, trying to cover it all up. "Miss Evelyn...?"

"It's fine. Why don't you run upstairs, I'll be there in a moment."

Bonnie hesitated for a moment before walking up the stairs. Her mother always told her that if someone you cared about was acting strange, you should tell an adult you trust, like a teacher. Of course, there was only one other adult she knew and trusted here at the moment. Arianna was up and walking about, most likely sick of sitting down even if she couldn't go very far while her sister was curled up on the chair dozing off. She looked over to see Bonnie running over to her and waving at her to come down to her height.

"Bonnie? Use your words." Arianna clearly didn't understand what bouncing up and down and waving her downwards meant.

"I need to tell you something! Come down here!"

Arianna knelt down and the girl whispered something in her ear, "Oh... well if she doesn't want to talk about it, we shouldn't push her right now, alright?"

"But what if it hurts...?" Bonnie asked.

"Then we will be there for her. The night is going to be long. I'll help her where I can, and you staying safe will help her too."

Bonnie seemed a little defeated, but didn't argue any further as she heard Evelyn's footsteps coming up. She was dressed in full attire, clearly not planning to stay much longer.

"Well, back to killing beasts I guess..." Evelyn sighed.

"I'd help you if I was any good at it." Arianna smiled a little.

"That's alright, you're helping me a lot already." the woman gave a nod.

"You be careful out there." 

"I'll certainly try."

She walked out the door after that. Even in the chapel they could hear the echoes of gates opening, and in certain spots, the sounds of beasts dying. As Bonnie dozed off with her eldest sister, Arianna walked to the entrance and looked out upon the skies. They were still in a state of twilight, but she could've sworn is was getting darker, bit by tiny bit. The moon was beginning to show through. She always felt so small beneath it as it seemed to stare her down.

_Scars all along her back... what has that woman been through?_

Arianna wants to find out, but she's also afraid to. It's then she sees a figure walking down the stairs. She's seen this hunter around in her crow feathered garb and her beaked mask. 

"You know even peeking can be dangerous." Eileen spoke up as she drew closer.

"I'm aware, but this place has incense wafting out of it. I think I'm ok standing in the doorway." 

"Hm, fair enough." the old woman walked towards her, "Are the girls still in there? A hunter named Evelyn brought them in along with me. Two little ones, Irene and Bonnie?"

"Depends on who you are." Arianna's eyes narrowed.

Eileen chuckled a little."Can't say I blame you for that. A strange old woman asking about kids on a night like this?" Eileen took her mask off, revealing dark skin that had seen age and silvery hair, "I'm glad though someone is looking after them while we hunt. If it makes you feel better, I'll stand out here and keep a few beasts away. I need to plan on how to take care of my mark."

"Mark?"

"I am Eileen the Crow." She placed her mask back on, "They call me a hunter of hunters, but I hunt the mad ones."

"At least you're not like that Maria then..." Arianna sighed.

Eileen seemed a bit confused for a moment before she realized, "Oh, yes, that Maria. She was a moon hunters years ago, but for a short time. Now she just causes pandemonium. Please don't lump her in with me. What I do is mercy, what she does is cruelty. Hunters cane turn into the most savage beasts of them all, or go drunk with blood, slabbering about killing anything in their way."

Arianna's gaze fell a bit, "That's what happened to their father right?"

"Yes, drunk with blood and then became a beast. He might have accidentally killed his own wife and that started a chain of events. Sad, really, but he was falling apart months before this with only a music box to keep him sane... I suppose this was inevitable but... not like this."

Arianna nodded, "Is... are you going to end up like that? Is Evelyn going to end up like that?"

"So long as we keep our heads on our shoulders, no, we won't. That becomes more difficult the harder the hunt, but that one seems like she can hold it together. At least, I hope."

The more she talked to Eileen, the more Arianna could get a feel for her character. She was always good at that, and it certainly came in handy for her profession, and what she was getting off of her was an old woman that still had caring and kind bones in her body, but had a difficult job.

"...Well instead of standing out in the cold, why don't you come in?" Arianna got out of the way. 

"Thank you." Eileen bowed and walked inside. She went up to the girls and sighed in relief seeing them napping. "Much better than being out there..."

"Are you their grandmother or...?" Arianna walked back over to where they were. 

"More like an aunt to them. We used to go over to Gascoigne's all of us hunters. A lot of us are gone now... and there's about to be one less..."

"Your mark?"

"Yes... an old hunter named Henryk..." they both looked up a little as they heard another gate open close by, but then back to each other, "He was Gascoigne's partner for a long time, and the man was really the only thing keeping him from falling down that rabbit hole... and I fear for his state of being now."

"Was he also close to the girls?"

"He was like a grandfather..."

Arianna's heart sank as she looked at them. They didn't deserve this, no one did, but certainly not them.

"You care about them a lot I see, even though you haven't known them long."

"It's hard not to," Arianna smiled a little bit, "They seem to have a way to wrap me around their fingers."

Eileen chuckled, "They sure do..."

There was silence between them for a moment before, "I'm sure hunting other hunters is hard... if need be, I can give you blood... it burns a bit, but it helps keep someone going."

"That's awfully kind of you. You don't have to do that."

"But I want to. I don't want to just sit here and do nothing. At least this way I can help a little."

Eileen was quite for a moment before, "You have all the things you need, right?"

"I do, and don't worry, I've done this many times before. Just give me a..."

A loud scream erupted from somewhere in the ward. The two women looked up towards one of the exits, both a lot more on edge.

"A beast..." Eileen mumbled, "A big one..."

"Evelyn...!" Ariannna was half tempted to run out the door and take a look, but Eileen's words stopped her.

"She's a Moon Hunter. If she dies, she'll return here unharmed. I vaguely remember there being a lamp here."

"But doesn't that hurt...?"

"She'll have to get used to it..." Eileen sighed, "This is what fate has chosen for her..."

* * * *

The streets twisted and turned here. Evelyn was certain that she couldn't get any more lost in this place, and every time she was proven wrong. Her axe was beginning to dull as she smashed through more heads and legs than she had wanted to today. At least with the opening of gates she was finding a more direct route back to the chapel. After a while she noticed on the top of a hill a grand cathedral, and more church doctors and a giant guarding it. This was what Gilbert mentioned before, right? The grand Cathedral where they might be people who still knew about Paleblood. Honestly in all of this mess she had almost forgotten about it. 

Climbing her way to the top, chopping down the mad doctors one by one, she came to the double doors. Much to her surprise as she pushed on them, they were unlocked. She slowly threw open the heavy doors and walked inside. Strange statues lined the stairs upwards. She could hear someone mumbling a prayer that echoed through the place, but she couldn't really make it out. Her own footsteps are echoing as she came to the top of the stairs, pillars holding up the grand archway. On the other side was some sort of altar, and the woman muttering the prayer beneath it.

"Bodies weak... minds young... were it not for..." was all that Evelyn could catch of the prayer. The woman then stopped speaking as she knelt over, clutching... something?

What happened next was sudden, and Evelyn had not been ready for it. The woman suddenly screamed as she grasped at her throat. Beneath her long while cloak her back seemed to grow and mutate rapidly as the woman keeled over. The fur growth, the mutation, it happened so fast that the blood seemed to just explode everywhere as the body couldn't keep up with it. Before Evelyn now stood a great beast, still wearing the cloak on her head, and much, much bigger with white fur.

She did not know the name at the time, but Vicar Amelia was not pleased with her intruder.

"Oh fuck me..." Evelyn mumbled under her breath as she watched the creature screech like a banshee and rush towards her. She rolled off to the side as the beast started to slash at her, sparks flying off the ground along with dust, ruining the floor. The beast then could feel something slashing at her back leg and then pushed herself away from it, her arm moving quickly and bashing Evelyn away with her giant paw. The woman hit the ground and couldn't get up in time to avoid a pounce. She felt claws sinking into her body before a moment before everything went black.

She wakes up with a gasp in the Chapel. She can feel sweat running down her back as she tried to get her bearings. The next thing she registers is Arianna kneeling beside her. She looked up into Arianna's eyes as the woman put her hands on her shoulders.

"It's ok. It's ok. You're safe. Breathe..." she told her. Evelyn did take a few deep breaths to help calm down, but Arianna's presence is much more comforting.

"You'll get used to that." Eileen mused, "Though I understand the shock at first..."

"Eileen...?" Evelyn asked as she started to settle, "How are you holding up?"

"Not bad for an old woman. Don't worry, you didn't wake the girls."

Evelyn sighed a little as she started to get up with Arianna helping her. The hunter looked over at the woman and found a small blush coming to her cheeks as she smiled at her. Even though her face was behind a mask, Arianna could tell and smiled back for her. She then looked at the sleeping girls that Eileen sat beside and seemed a bit relieved they didn't see that.

"So um..." Evelyn piped up, "I hope whoever was mad enough to be praying in that Cathedral at night wasn't super important..." Even though she got the feeling they were.

"Oh? Depends on how big the beast is." Eileen mused.

"Cleric beast size."

Eileen sighed, "...It may have been our current Vicar. Irene has a couple stories of her falling apart shortly after she visits the children..."

"White cloak with strands of white hair? That's all I saw before she... well, you know."

"That does sound like her..." Eileen sighed, "The church is losing members quickly I see..."

"The entire city is losing members. I swear the whole town has turned and the sun still hasn't set."

"It does feel like it... I'm not sure if this city is surviving this night..."

"At the very least everyone in here is surviving." Evelyn's eyes narrowed. Arianna couldn't help the smile on her face as she heard the determination in her voice.

"Yes, this is true. I just hope no one plans to change that." Eileen stood up, "I best find my mark. Good luck to you, and no, don't follow me. I'll be just fine." The old woman then walked downstairs to the graveyard entrance.

"I hope she knows that if you tell me not to follow, I'm more likely to." Evelyn mumbled as she quickly checked her equipment. She was going to have fix up the axe soon, but it should hold out a little while longer.

"You should follow, just in case. She told me she's looking for Henryk. He's... like a grandfather to the girls but without his hunting partner..."

"...shit..." Evelyn sighed, not needing the know the rest, "I'll... I'll go help her with that. Not that she's not capable but it's better I do. God that must be awful, having to put down your friends..."

"I can't imagine..." Arianna shook her head as she sat down, "Be careful Evelyn."

"I'll sure try." she mused.


End file.
